human beings are not by any means the only creatures who exist on earth. there are thousands of other living things, some of which you know and many others you do not. some of them are all around you; you see them everywhere. some of them, however, are so far away that you only have the chance to see them in books or movies. but a closer look at these beings would show you that they all have one feature in common. can you guess what that feature is? we can call it "compatibility." now, let's enumerate what a living thing is compatible with. they are compatible with:
the environment in which they live,
other living things with which they co-exist,
the elements that maintain the balance of nature,
the factors that provide benefits for human beings.
before expanding on these, let us take a simple example to clarify the meaning of "compatibility." think about the sockets and plugs in your home. they are perfectly compatible with one another. but how can you tell that they are perfectly compatible with one another? because there are openings in the socket into which the prongs of the plug fit. do you think these are enough? the width of the plug's metal prongs is just the same as the width of the openings in the socket. if this were not the case, the plug would never fit the socket. the distance between the plug's prongs and the distance between the socket's openings are also the same. if they were not the same, the plug would never fit in the socket.
however, these features alone would not be enough to establish the compatibility of the plug and the socket. if the plug were very long, this would again be a failure in terms of compatibility. if the prongs of the plug were non-metallic, they would fail to conduct the electricity in the socket. if the plug were not made of plastic, then every time you held it you would receive an electric shock. as you see, a lack of compatibility in even the simplest device renders that device inoperative. this means that the same person designed the plug and the socket. and he designed them to be compatible with one another. he made them functional. it is unlikely that the metal and plastic could have come together by coincidence and that they were planned separately and independently of each other, because in that case you could never find a socket and plug compatible with one another.
the compatibility of living things is far more complicated than the compatibility in a socket and plug, because living things contain thousands of systems and organs that have to co-exist harmoniously and work together flawlessly. any attempt to write down these systems one by one would fill a library of hundreds of books. therefore, in the following pages we will dwell in brief on these flawless features of the living things created by allah:
- living things are compatible with the environment in
which they live
every living thing, whether on land or in the air, is perfectlycompatible with its habitat. this is how they are created. various perfect systems secure the nutrition, protection and reproduction of living things.
that is to say, each living thing is specially designed in accordance with
its habitat.
the organs and the lifestyles of living things are all compatible with the conditions in their environment. for instance, birds have perfect wings to fly in the sky. fish have specially created gills with which to breathe under water. if they had lungs like us, they would drown.
- living things are compatible with other living things with
which they co-exist
some birds and insects contribute to the reproduction of plants. that means that, although they are unaware of it, they help the growth of plants. for instance, while visiting one flower after another, bees carry pollen. thanks to this process, plants are able to reproduce. in some cases, animals perform actions that are beneficial to other animals.
cleaning fish, for instance, clean micro-organisms off the skins of big fish and thus provide the basis for a healthy life for them. this is another form of compatibility.
- living things are compatible with the
elements that secure the balance of
nature
no living thing, apart from man, disturbs the balance in nature. furthermore, they are created with features that maintain that balance. yet, the balance of the earth is always vulnerable to man's ignorant behaviour. for instance, if man hunts a species beyond reasonable limits, that species becomes extinct. the extinction of that species causes its prey to increase in numbers far too much, which in time endangers the lives of human beings and even nature itself. so, there is an innate balance in the creation of living things; they are totally compatible with the balance of nature, but man alone has the potential to destroy that delicate balance.
- living things are compatible with the
factors that provide benefits for human
beings.
for instance, think about how good honey is for you. how do bees know that you need such a type of nutrition, and how do they produce it? could a chicken, cow or sheep know the nutritional needs of human beings and produce perfect nutrients to meet those needs? of course not.
this astonishing harmony between living things is obvious evidence that a single creator creates them. it is thanks to the flawless creation of allah that these balances exist on earth.
The Creation of the Universe
we have so far explained allah's creation of living things. now, it is time to examine the universe at large. allah also created the universe in which you, the earth, the sun, the solar system, planets, stars, galaxies and everything else exists. however, as well as those who oppose the fact of the creation of living things, there are also some people who deny the fact that the universe was created. these people assert that the universe came into existence spontaneously. moreover, they suggest that it has always existed. yet, they never offer an explanation for this irrational claim. their claim is similar to the following example: imagine that you set sail one day and reached the shores of an island. what would you think if you came across a highly developed city with skyscrapers, surrounded by beautiful parks and greenery? furthermore, this city was full of theatres, restaurants and railroad lines. you would certainly think that this city had been planned and constructed by intelligent people, would you not? what would you think about someone who says, "nobody built this city. it has always existed, and at some time in the past we came and inhabited it.
here, we have all our necessities, and they all come into existence spontaneously"?
you would doubtless think him insane, or else you would think that he has no idea what he is talking about. but never forget that the universe in which we live is incomparably larger than that city. the universe contains an almost uncountable number of planets, stars, comets and satellites of various sorts. that being the case, the claims of a person who says that this flawless universe was not created but has always existed must not remain unanswered. do you not agree?
after reading the section below, you yourself will be able to provide
the best answer. now, let's expand on the subject of the universe and save
the answer to the end.
everything started to form in a big explosion
during the times when people did not have telescopes to make observations of the heavens, they had very little, and very unreliable, information about the remote universe, and they had very different ideas about it. with advances in technology, they attained accurate information about outer space. in the mid-twentieth century, they discovered
something very important. the universe has a date of birth, which means that the universe has not always existed. the universe—in other words, the stars, planets and galaxies—started to form at a specific date.
scientists calculated the age of the universe to be 15 billion years.they named the moment the universe was born the "big bang," because 15 billion years ago, when nothing existed, everything suddenly emerged with an explosion from a single point. in brief, matter and the universe, which people assumed to have always existed, had a beginning.
at this point, the question arises, "how did they come to understand that it had a beginning?" that was quite easy; the matter that scattered and sped away from other particles of matter with the big explosion is stil moving away. think for a moment! the universe is continuing to expand even at this moment. imagine the universe as a balloon. if we draw two small spots on this balloon, what happens when you blow it up? the spots on the balloon move away from one another as the balloon expands and its volume increases. as in the case of the balloon, the volume of the universe is also increasing, and everything within it is racing away from everything else. in other words, the distance between the stars, galaxies, stars and meteors is continually increasing.
imagine that you are watching the expansion of the universe in a cartoon film. how would the universe look if we rewound the film back to the beginning? it would reduce down to a single point, would it not? that is exactly what scientists did. they returned to the beginning of the big bang and realised that the ever-expanding universe had initially been a single point.
this explosion, called the big bang, became the initial point of the existence allah had predetermined for the "universe." with this explosion, allah created the particles that made up the universe, and thus matter emerged. it scattered around at tremendous speed. during the initial moments of the explosion, this environment was almost like a soup of matter made up of different particles. but in time this great chaos started to transform into an ordered structure. allah created atoms from the particles, and eventually stars from the atoms. allah created the entire universe and everything in it.
let's give an example to clarify all this:
think of a huge space. it is utterly unlimited. there is only a bowl full of paint in it. nothing else exists. in the bowl, all sorts of paints are mixed up, forming unusual colours. imagine that a bomb explodes in this bowl, under the effect of which the paints scatter everywhere in the form of tiny specks. imagine that millions of paint specks move in all
directions in this space. meanwhile, during this voyage of the small specks, unusual things start to happen. instead of forming a chaotic mess and ultimately disappearing, they start interacting as if they were intelligent beings. the droplets that initially formed a coloured mixture start to sort themselves into their individual colours. blues, yellows, reds, and all droplets of the same colour groups collect together and continue to move away. yet even more unusual things continue to happen: five hundred blue droplets join together and, in the form of a bigger drop, continue their journey. meanwhile, three hundred red droplets in one corner and two hundred yellow droplets in another merge and keep scattering around together. these separate groups of colours move away from one another and form beautiful images, as if acting upon someone's orders.
some droplets come together and form images of stars, others become the picture of a sun, and some others form the planets around this sun. another group of drops form the image of the earth, while another forms the moon. if you ever saw such a picture, would you think that an explosion in a bowl of paint had accidentally formed this picture?
nobody would think that possible.
as the story of the paint drops shows, matter came together and formed the perfect picture we see when we look up in the sky, in other words, stars, the sun and planets. but could all these things have happened by themselves?
how could the stars in the sky, the planets, the sun, moon, and earth ever have come into existence as a result of atoms falling together by chance after an explosion? how about your mother, father, friends or birds, cats, bananas or strawberries…? of course, this is most unlikely to have happened. such an idea is as nonsensical as claiming that a house was not built by workers, but came into being by the free will of tiles and bricks, and by pure chance. we all know that bricks scattered around by a bomb explosion do not form little huts. they are reduced into stone and soil and, in time, mix back into the earth.
but one point deserves particular attention. as you know, paint drops are unconscious and inanimate matter. it is impossible that drops of paint could spontaneously come together and form pictures. here,however, we are talking about the formation of conscious and living things. it is certainly highly improbable that living things such as human beings, plants and animals could have come into existence from inanimate matter purely through random chance. to understand this better, we should consider our own bodies: they are composed of tiny molecules invisible to the eye, such as proteins, fats and water…these make up the cells, and the cells make up our bodies. the perfect order in our bodies is a product of a special design. allah created our eyes that see, our hands that hold this book and our legs that enable us to walk.
allah predetermined how we would develop in our mothers' wombs, how tall we would be and the colours of our eyes.
The Existence of Man
have you ever wondered how man came into existence? you will probably say, "everyone has a mother and father." but that answer is inadequate. after all, it does not explain how the first mother and father, that is, the first man, came into being. you will most probably have heard some stories on this subject at school or from people around you. yet the only accurate answer is that it is allah who created you. we will dwell on this issue in detail in the coming chapters. for now, there is one thing we must all know; the first human being who appeared on earth was the prophet adam, peace be upon him. all human beings are descended from him.
adam, peace be upon him, was, just like us, a man who walked, talked, prayed and worshipped allah. allah first created him and then his wife. then their children spread all over the world.
never forget that allah only needs to give a command in order to create. when he wishes something to be, he gives the command "be!" and it comes into being. he has enough power to do anything. for example, he created adam from clay. this is easy for allah.
however, never forget that there are also people who deny allah's existence. these people give other answers to the question of how people came into existence. they do not search for the truth.
if a cartoon character said, "i came into existence when ink was spilt on the paper by chance. the paints were also spilt by chance and formed the colours. that is to say, i do not need anyone to draw my picture or shape me. i can come into being myself, by chance," you would surely not take it seriously. you know that the perfect lines, colours and actions in cartoons cannot be formed by randomly spilling paint here and there, since knocking over an ink bottle only makes a mess; it never forms a fine picture made up of regular lines. for something meaningful and with a purpose to come into being, someone has to think about it, design it and draw it.
to understand all this, you do not need to see the artist and the painter. you automatically understand that the cartoonist has given this character its attributes, shapes and colours, and the faculty of speaking, walking or jumping. after this example, think seriously about the following: someone who does not accept that allah created him is also lying, just like that cartoon character. now let's assume that such a person talks to us. let's see how this man tries to explain how he and everyone else came into existence:
"i, my mother, father, their parents and the very first parents who lived from time immemorial all came into existence by chance. coincidences created our bodies, eyes, ears and all organs." these words of this man, who denies that allah created him, are very much like the words of the cartoon character. the only difference is that the character is made up of lines and paint on a sheet of paper. the person who utters these words, on the other hand, is a man made up of cells. but does this make any difference? isn't the man who utters these words a highly complex organism more perfect than the cartoon character? doesn't he have more organs? in other words, if it is impossible for a cartoon character to come into being by chance, then it is even more unlikely for this man to have come into being by chance. now, let's ask this man the following question: "you have a very wonderful body that functions flawlessly. your hands can hold objects with great delicacy—much better than the most developed machines. you can run on your feet. you have perfect eyesight, sharper than the highest quality cameras. you never hear a hissing sound in your ears; no hi-fi can produce such a clear sound. many organs of which you are unaware work together to keep you alive. for instance, although you have no control whatsoever over the functioning of your heart, kidneys or liver, they continually operate flawlessly. today, hundreds of scientists and engineers are working strenuously to design machines similar to these organs. however, their efforts have achieved nothing. that is to say, you are a flawless creature, the like of which cannot be manufactured by man. how doyou account for all this?"
the man who denies that allah creates these things will probably say: "i also know that we have a flawless body and perfect organs. but i believe in the following: inanimate and unconscious atoms came together by coincidence to form our organs and bodies."
you will doubtless have noticed that these words sound unreasonable and odd. whatever age he may be or occupation he may have, a person who puts forward such claims obviously fails to think clearly and has mistaken ideas. surprisingly, one frequently comes across people who believe in such irrational notions. since even the simplest machine has a designer, a complex system like man could not have come into existence by chance. there is no doubt that allah created the first human being. allah also created the systems within the body of the first man to enable reproduction and the appearance of succeeding generations. allah ensured the human race would continue by means of a programme inserted in its cells. we also came into existence thanks to this programme created by allah, and continue to grow up in line with it. what you read about this subject in the following pages will enable you to attain a better understanding of the fact that allah, our creator, possesses infinite power and wisdom.
Allah Created all of us
you often hear people referring to "allah." they usually form sentences such as, "may allah bless you," "if allah wills," "insha'allah," "may allah forgive you" and so on.
these are the statements that are used when one remembers allah, prays to him or exalts him.
for example, "may allah protect you" expresses the fact that allah has infinite power over you and every being—animate or inanimate—around you. it is allah who can save you, your mother, father and your friends from evil. for this reason, this phrase is often used when mentioning a natural disaster or similar unwelcome event. think for a moment: could your mother, father or anyone else you know prevent a natural disaster, for example, a flood? they certainly could not, because only allah makes such events happen to man and, similarly, only he can prevent them.
the word "insha'allah" means "if allah wills." therefore, when we say that we are going to do something or not going to do something, it is essential we say, "insha'allah." this is because only allah knows the future and thus creates it as he wills. nothing happens except what he wills.
when one of our friends, for instance, says, "i will certainly go to school tomorrow," he or she is making a mistake, because we cannot know what allah wills him or her to do in the future. maybe he or she will be sick and unable to go to school, or atrocious weather conditions may suspend classes.
for this reason we say "insha'allah" when expressing our intentions for the future, and thereby acknowledge that allah knows everything, that everything happens only by his will and that we can never know anything beyond what allah teaches us. this way, we show due respect to our lord, who possesses infinite might and knowledge.
in the verses of the qur'an, allah informs us that he wants us to say "insha'allah" (if allah wills):
never say about anything, "i am doing that tomorrow," without adding "if allah wills." remember your lord when you forget, and say, "hopefully my lord will guide me to something closer to right guidance than this."(surat al-kahf: 23-24)
you may not know a lot about these issues, but that is not really important. in order for you to come to know allah, all you need to do is to look around and think.
everywhere is full of beauty showing us the attributes of allah and his infinite might. think about a lovely white rabbit, the smiling faces of dolphins, the glorious colours of butterfly wings or the blue seas, green forests, various kinds of flowers and the other innumerable beauties in the world. it is allah who creates all of these. allah has created the entire universe you see—the world and the creatures in it—from nothing. therefore, looking at the beauty that he creates, you can see his infinite might.
it is a fact that our own existence is evidence of allah's existence. so let us first think about our existence and how allah has created us so perfectly.
The Flawless Program in the Human Body
in the previous page, we mentioned a perfect program allah inserted into the human body. thanks to this program, every human being has eyes, ears, arms and teeth. again thanks to this program, despite some differences in their appearances, all human beings look reasonably similar. we resemble our relatives, and some peoples have their own distinctive characteristics because of this program. for instance, the chinese and japanese generally resemble one another, and africans have their unique skin colours, facial features, and mouth and eye structures.
now let's explain what this program is like with the following example: you must have an idea of the way computers operate. an expert designs the computer. experts in special factories with the help of advanced technologies also produce complementary components such as the microprocessor, monitor, keyboard, cd, loudspeakers and so on. now, you have a machine capable of processing highly complex operations. you can either play games or write whatever you want. but for all this to happen, you need software called "programs." without these programs, which are specially prepared by experts, your computer would fail to operate. furthermore, we know that not every program is compatible with every type of computer, which means that the programmer must know both the computer and the software compatible with it. as we have seen, one needs both a machine and a proper program to operate a computer. but more importantly, if nobody designed and produced all these things, your computer would again fail to work. the human body is similar to a computer. as we said earlier, there is a program in our cells that brings about our existence. now the question is, how did it happen that this program came into existence? the answer is obvious: allah, the almighty, specially creates every human being. it is allah who has created our bodies as well as the program that shapes them. but don't get me wrong. from another point of view, it is quite impossible to compare the human body to a computer. our bodies are infinitely superior to the most complex computer. our brain alone, for instance, is many times more complex than a computer. now let's see how a baby is born into this world: initially, there exists a tiny piece of flesh in your mother's womb. in the course of time, this tiny piece of flesh expands and takes shape.
your height, the colour of your eyes, your eyebrows, the shape of your hands and hundreds of other features are all predetermined from the very first moment of your existence. all this information is stored in that initial program allah placed in your cells. this program is so flawless and detailed that scientists have only recently come close to understanding how it operates.
in accordance with the program allah placed in our bodies, we grow gradually. that is why the growth of our body does not seem odd to us. it takes us years to grow. we would no doubt be astonished if this program worked faster. the sight of a newborn baby suddenly turning into an old man before our very eyes would be quite amazing.
It is Allah Who Created Everything
if you recall, at the beginning of the book we sought the correct answer to give to a disbelieving person. now you have the answer.
explosions do not form an orderly picture, but only disrupt an existing one. the order that emerged after the explosion of the universe is even more perfect than the examples we mentioned—a big city or the bowl of paint. all these cannot be the product of coincidence.
this perfect system could have only been brought into being by the will of almighty allah. allah is able to create anything. he just says to it, "be!" and it is. allah created a beautiful world in a flawless universe for us, and he created animals and plants in it. he created the sun to emit energy and to make us warm. so finely adjusted is the distance of the sun from the earth that were it a little closer our world would be very hot, but if it were any farther away, then we would all freeze.
as scientists uncover more of these facts, we come to know the might of allah better. that is because matter can neither make decisions nor carry them out. this means there is a creator who designs and creates this universe. matter, the underlying substance of the stars, human beings, animals, plants and of everything, whether animate or inanimate, is all under allah's control. that is why everything on earth is orderly. because everything is created by allah, the maker and the giver of form.
allah created everyone
with a destiny
at the beginning of the book, we referred to how allah created adam, peace be upon him. all human beings are descended from him. allah has granted people life in this world to test them, and sent them messengers to communicate their responsibilities.
everyone is put to the test in this world by the events he experiences. in other words, we are put to the test in our reactions to the incidents we encounter, the way we speak and our steadfastness in the face of difficulties: in brief, whether we conduct ourselves correctly.
this test will serve to determine our lot in the afterlife. but the test in this world has a very important secret. as a great mercy and comfort granted to mankind, allah created destiny. destiny, that is, all the incidents one experiences throughout life, is predetermined by allah even before one's birth. for each person, allah creates his or her unique destiny. to better understand this, we can liken it to a movie recorded on a
videotape cassette. both the beginning and the end of this movie are already known, but we can only know them after watching the film. this also holds true for destiny. everything a person will do throughout his life, all the incidents he encounters, the schools he will attend, the houses in which he will live, and the moment of his death are all predetermined. all incidents that happen to a person, whether good or evil, are predetermined in allah's knowledge. each person is put to the test in compliance with this scenario specifically written for him. to sum up, in accordance with this scenario, man goes through a series of incidents, and his faith, and then his actions as well as his reactions to these incidents, determine his lot in the afterlife.
knowledge of destiny is a great source of comfort for man. it is a blessing from allah. for this reason, there is no need for man to feel sorry for incidents whose outcomes are already preordained or to worry over events that do not go well. to those who show patience in the face of ordeals, aware that nothing happens without allah's will, allah gives the glad tidings of the garden (paradise). the messengers of allah set the best examples in this respect. allah gives such people the glad tidings of the garden due to their exemplary faith and correct behaviour.
Allah Created Everyone with a Destiny
at the beginning of the book, we referred to how allah created adam, peace be upon him. all human beings are descended from him. allah has granted people life in this world to test them, and sent them messengers to communicate their responsibilities.
everyone is put to the test in this world by the events he experiences. in other words, we are put to the test in our reactions to the incidents we encounter, the way we speak and our steadfastness in the face of difficulties: in brief, whether we conduct ourselves correctly.
this test will serve to determine our lot in the afterlife. but the test in this world has a very important secret. as a great mercy and comfort granted to mankind, allah created destiny. destiny, that is, all the incidents one experiences throughout life, is predetermined by allah even before one's birth. for each person, allah creates his or her unique destiny. to better understand this, we can liken it to a movie recorded on a videotape cassette. both the beginning and the end of this movie are already known, but we can only know them after watching the film. this also holds true for destiny. everything a person will do throughout his life, all the incidents he encounters, the schools he will attend, the houses in which he will live, and the moment of his death are all predetermined. all incidents that happen to a person, whether good or evil, are predetermined in allah's knowledge. each person is put to the test in compliance with this scenario specifically written for him. to sum up, in accordance with this scenario, man goes through a series of incidents, and his faith, and then his actions as well as his reactions to these incidents, determine his lot in the afterlife.
knowledge of destiny is a great source of comfort for man. it is a blessing from allah. for this reason, there is no need for man to feel sorry for incidents whose outcomes are already preordained or to worry over events that do not go well. to those who show patience in the face of ordeals, aware that nothing happens without allah's will, allah gives the glad tidings of the garden ( paradise ). the messengers of allah set the best examples in this respect. allah gives such people the glad tidings of the garden due to their exemplary faith and correct behaviour.
The First Human Being and the First Prophet: Adam
as you will remember, while we were talking about the creation of man, we said that the first man on earth was adam, peace be upon him. adam was also the first prophet. that is, allah also sent a messenger to the very first community he created on earth and taught them their deen (religion) and how to become slaves devoted to allah.
allah taught adam how to speak and all the names. this is related in the qur'an as follows:
he taught adam the names of all things… ( surat al-baqara: 31)
this is surely very important. among all living things, only man has the faculty of speech. speaking is a feature peculiar to human beings. thanks to the fact that allah initially gave this faculty to adam, it became possible for man to know the objects around him and to give names to them.
the generations succeeding adam could also speak, had feelings, felt sorry or excited, wear clothes, used tools and devices and had talent for music and the arts. musical instruments such as the flute, wall drawings and some other objects that scientists have found with the remains of ancient human beings prove that they were people like us. in
other words, contrary to the claims of some people, the first human beings had never been wild creatures, halfape/ half-man.
you know that neither an ape nor any other being can speak, think or act like a human being. allah gave all these faculties especially to man. (for further information on this subject you can refer to the book, wonders of allah's creation by harun yahya).
but some people who are not willing to accept the fact that the first human being was
adam put forward some claims of their own: they fabricated a false identity for the first
human being. according to their imaginary scenarios, human beings and apes sprang from the same living thing, that is, they had a common ancestor, and evolved in time into
their current states. if you ask how this unusual happening occurred, they give a single answer: "it happened by chance." when you ask if there is any evidence to prove this claim, they provide none. to conclude, there is not a single remain proving that man
evolved from another being. if you ask, "what are these remains from the past?," there is a ready answer: some living things leave traces behind when they die, and these traces, which we call fossils, remain for millions of years without changing. however, for this to happen, that living thing must suddenly be entrapped in an oxygen-free environment. for instance, if a bird on the ground had been abruptly covered by a heap of sand millions of years ago, the remains of that bird could have survived to our day. similarly, there are substances secreted from trees called resins. sometimes, this honey-like substance covers an insect and turns into the hard material called amber, which preserves the dead insect for millions of years. this is the way we gather information about living beings of ancient times. these remains are called "fossils." those who suggest that the first human being came into existence from an ape-like creature can never provide any fossils proving this claim. in other words, no one has ever found a fossil belonging to an
unusual creature that was half-ape/half-human. but these people have produced false fossils, pictures and drawings to cover up this falsehood, and have even put them into school textbooks. all these frauds were gradually uncovered one by one and made public as scientific frauds. because such people are unwise and obstinate, it is almost impossible for them to accept allah's existence and to realise that he creates everything. although the number of such people is diminishing steadily, there are still some who strive to disseminate their flawed views through periodicals, books and newspapers, and also in schools. to make people believe in their flawed views, they insist on their arguments and assert that they have scientific validity. however, each piece of research done and evidence provided by intelligent scientists prove that the ape did not evolve into man.
adam, the first man, whom allah specially created, was in all ways the same as contemporary man; he was in no way different. these are the facts allah communicates to us in the qur'an. there is yet another very important issue allah informs us about adam: the story of adam and
satan, the enemy of mankind.
man's greatest enemy: satan
you may already know about satan, but do you know that he also knows you very well and resorts to every method to tempt you? do you know that the actual purpose of satan, who pretends to be your friend, is to deceive you? let's start from the very beginning and remind ourselves why satan is our enemy. for this purpose, we will turn to the story about adam and satan in the qur'an.
in the qur'an, satan is the general name given until the day of judgment to all beings who have committed themselves to lead man astray. iblis is the principal evil being who rebelled against allah when he created adam.
according to the qur'anic account, allah created adam and then called the angels to prostrate to him. the angels complied with allah's command, but iblis refused to prostrate to adam. he impiously asserted that he was superior to man. because of his disobedience and insolence, he was banished from allah's sight. before leaving allah's presence, iblis requested time from allah to lead people astray. the purpose of iblis is to tempt people and thus to make them turn away from the right path within the period of time granted to him. he will try anything to make the majority of people subject to himself. allah proclaims that he will send satan and his followers to the fire. these things are related in the qur'an as follows:
we created you and then formed you and then we said to the angels, "prostrate before adam," and they prostrated—except for iblis. he was not among those who prostrated.
he [allah] said, "what prevented you from prostrating when i commanded you to?" he [iblis] replied, "i am better than him. you created me from fire and you created him from clay."
he [allah] said, "descend from heaven. it is not for you to be arrogant in it. so get out! you are one of the abased." he said,
"grant me a reprieve until the day they are raised up." he [allah] said, "you are one of the reprieved."
he said, "by your misguidance of me, i will lie in ambush for them on your straight path. then i will come at them, from in front of them and behind them, from their right and from their left. you will not find most of them thankful."
he [allah] said, "get out of it, reviled and driven out. as for those of them who follow you, i will fill up the fire with every one of you." ( surat al-a'raf: 11-18)
after being banished from allah's sight, satan set upon the struggle that would last until the day of judgment. since then, he has cunningly approached people, schemed to lead them astray and used unprecedented methods for this end. as you now understand better, satan is a foe that can approach man very cunningly. for this reason, you have to be watchful to escape him. never forget that satan is lying in ambush right now to scheme against you. he tries to stop you reading this book and thinking over what you read. he is trying to hinder you from doing good deeds, and to get you to become disrespectful and disobedient to your elders, and to hinder you from giving thanks to allah, praying and always telling the truth.
never allow satan to deceive you and to hinder you from becoming a person of good character and listening to the voice of your conscience. you must take refuge in allah and ask help from him when an evil thought occurs to you or when you find yourself unwilling to do a good deed, since all these are the cunning tricks of satan. never forget that satan can exercise no authority over those who have faith.
Allah sent Messengers and Books
in previous chapters, we provided examples and evidence that help us to ponder and grasp something of allah's might and grandeur. the reason why allah endowed us with the faculties of thinking and reasoning is in order for us to come to know him. allah has also sent us the revealed books through which he introduces himself. he communicates what he expects from us in these books. allah commissioned and sent messengers who set examples for their peoples with their excellent conduct. through these messengers, the pure message and revelation of allah provide guidance for mankind. it is difficult to know exactly how many messengers allah sent, although there are traditions relating that, for example, there have been three hundred and thirteen messengers and a much greater number of prophets throughout history. we only know the names of the prophets
mentioned in the qur'an, the last revelation sent by allah.
allah provides us with knowledge of the lives of the prophets to allow us to understand their conduct. through the messengers he sent, our lord conveys to us the right way of living and how to conduct ourselves correctly in this world. only through allah's communications can we know how to conduct ourselves, and which types of behaviour are better and more in
compliance with the values of the qur'an. it is only through his communications that we can ever know the behaviour that earn allah's good pleasure and his infinite reward as well as those that lead to punishment.
in the qur'an, allah informs us that throughout history he sent his messengers to all communities, and that they warned them. these messengers summoned their people to worship
allah, to pray to him and to comply with his commands. he also made clear to them that otherwise they would be punished. in brief, they warned the disbelievers and those who engaged in wicked deeds, and they gave glad tidings to believers that they would be rewarded. (the garden and the fire will be dealt with extensively in the following sections.) the last prophet allah sent to mankind was the prophet muhammad, may allah bless him and grant him peace. the qur'an is the last revealed book.
the earlier revelations from allah have lost their authenticity, since ignorant people and those with bad intentions have incorporated their own words and extra pieces into them. therefore, their originals, the true revelations that were initially sent to the peoples, did not survive to our day. but allah sent us the qur'an, the book that is impossible to alter.
the prophet muhammad, may allah bless him and grant him peace, and later muslims preserved the qur'an very well. the qur'an is so clear that everyone can understand it. when we read the qur'an, we can immediately understand that it is the speech of allah. the qur'an, which has survived completely intact, is under allah's protection and it is the only revealed book for which people will be responsible until the day of judgment.
today all muslims, wherever they are, read the very same qur'an; not a single discrepancy can be found in one word or letter. the qur'an revealed to the messenger, may allah bless him and grant him peace, and compiled by the caliph abu bakr and then later written out by the caliph uthman, may allah be pleased with them, who lived 1,400 years ago, and the qur'an we read today are identical. there is a one-to-one
correspondence between them. this means, from the day the qur'an was revealed to the prophet muhammad, peace be upon him, it has survived intact. that is because allah protected the qur'an from evil people who intended to alter it or incorporate extra bits in it. in one verse, allah informs us that he preserves the qur'an specially:
it is we who have sent down the reminder [i.e., the qur'an]
and we who will preserve it. ( surat al-hijr: 9)
with the word "we" in this verse, allah refers to himself. there is no other god besides allah, he has no partner. he is the almighty allah, the originator of everything and the one who encompasses everything in his knowledge. in some parts of the qur'an, allah refers to himself with the word "i," and in some others with the word, "we." in arabic, which is the language of the qur'an, the word "we" is also employed to refer to a single person with the purpose of arousing feelings of might and respect in the listener. there is a similar case in english known as "the royal we." in the succeeding sections of this book, we will give you examples of verses (of the qur'an) and surahs (chapters of the qur'an). they are the most correct words because they are the words of allah, the one who knows us better than we do ourselves. in the qur'an, allah wants us to take lessons from the lives of the prophets. one verse reads:
there is instruction in their [i.e., messengers'] stories for people of intelligence... (surah yusuf: 111)
the type of person to whom allah draws our attention in this verse is a person who knows that the qur'an is the speech of allah and thereby thinks, exercises his reason and strives to learn the qur'an and live by its commands. allah holds the people to whom he sends his messengers responsible for complying with his commands. having received allah's revelations, people will have no right to put forward excuses on the day
of judgment. that is because the messengers of allah convey to their peoples the knowledge of the existence of allah and of what he expects from people. once a person hears this message, he is responsible for it. this is related in the qur'an as follows:
messengers bringing good news and giving warning, so that
people will have no argument against allah after the coming of
the messengers. allah is almighty, all-wise. ( surat an-nisa:
165)
allah created many groups of people on earth. some of these groups refused what their messengers brought to them and denied that they were messengers at all. because they did not listen to their words and comply with allah's commands, they were punished. through his messengers, allah also warned these rebellious people of a terrible life in
this world. despite this, they continued to oppose their messengers and slander them. furthermore, they became so violent as in some cases even to murder them. upon this, allah gave them the punishment they deserved, and, in time, new communities replaced them. in the qur'an, the situation of such communities is related as follows: have they not seen how many generations we destroyed before them which we had established on the earth far more firmly than we have established you? we sent down heaven upon them in abundant rain and made rivers flow under them. but we destroyed them for their wrong actions and raised up further generations after them. ( surat al-an'am: 6)
in coming chapters, we will dwell on the exemplary behaviour of the prophets who struggled against these rebellious communities.
Allah knows Everything
mr. hasan had three sons. faruq, abdullah and qasim. he loved them very much. he wanted to see them grow up as good muslims. mr. hasan himself was a good muslim. he did his best obey all the commands of allah.
one day, mr. hasan thought he would test his sons. he gave each of them some sweets and said, “eat the sweets in such a place where no one can see you, and when you have done so, come back to me.”
faruq took the sweets and went to his room. he shut the door from the inside and ate the sweets, thinking that no one could see him.
abdullah went to the cellar of the house and he was sure that nobody was there. he ate the sweets in the darkness of the cellar.
qasim thought and thought about a place where he could eat the sweets without anyone seeing him. he could think of no such place. every time he thought about a place, he remembered allah could see him. so he did not eat the sweets.
faruq and abdullah came back and told mr. hasan about what they did. qasim came and returned the sweets to his father saying, “there is no place which is secret from allah, so i did not eat the sweets. “ mr. hasan was very pleased with qasim. he told faruq and abdullah to learn a lesson from their brother qasim.
mr. hasan also said, “my dear sons, always keep in mind that allah knows everything. he is with us all the time. so we should not do anything bad even in secret.”
we have already learned about allah. now we should learn about islam and muslims.
what is islam?
islam is an arabic word.
it is our way of life.
what does islam mean?
it means to submit to allah and obey his commands. if we obey allah and do as he commands, we will have peace.
that is why islam also means peace.
islam teaches us to lead a good life on this earth. it tells us how to live as good people. it also tells us that allah is our maker and master. islam shows us the right way. if we follow islam, we can be happy and live in peace. so, islam is a great blessing for us.
how did we come to know about islam?
we came to know about islam from the prophets and messengers of allah. we will learn more about them later in this book.
islam began with adam peace be upon him and was completed at the time of muhammad peace be upon him.
muhammad peace be upon him was the final messenger of allah on earth.
who is a muslim?
a muslim is a person who follows islam. if we follow islam, allah gives us peace and happiness.
a muslim will always try to do good. he speaks the truth. he will not lie. he will not do bad things. he helps others. he cares for the old and the needy. he listens to his parents and cares for them. he is polite and cares for other human beings. he always tries to please allah.
we feel proud to be muslims. allah has given us the name muslims. allah says in the qur’an:
“he named you muslims before and in this.”
(surah 22, verse 78)
o allah, make us good muslims and make us happy.
