A short refutation of the false theory of evolution of man from ape.
Just
as in the entire universe, miraculous systems that are created by our
Lord also exist within the human body.Just as in the entire universe,
miraculous systems that are created by our Lord also exist within the
human body. One of these systems, the voice box or larynx is one of
these superior miracles of creation. The voice box is the name given to
the part of the windpipe, or trachea, that opens to the mouth, or oral
cavity. Right at the entrance of the larynx are located the vocal cords.
Thanks to the muscles that govern them, these cords can assume
different shapes and as a result, we can make various sounds, including
speech.One
reason why other living beings can not make sounds like human beings is
that their voice boxes are located at a higher part of the mouth cavity
than in human beings. The human larynx is lower in the windpipe than in
any other animal, including monkeys. Thanks to this position, the
breath coming out of the lungs is transformed by the voice box into a
wide variety of different sounds.Evolutionists
fail to answer many questions. But when they try to explain them by
offering the thesis of selection of advantageous traits through natural
selection,it is at this point, they face another deadlock for the lower
position of the voice box is by no means a physical advantage. Due to
this position, the food we eat may easily get into the windpipe and
choke us, or the liquids we drink may accidentally get into the lungs.
In
order to prevent this, while we are eating or drinking anything, a
little tongue has been created that closes the voice box. When we try
to eat or drink something and speak at the same time, these two actions
interfere with each other and as each of you have certainly experienced
during your life we develop an immediate cough. But animals have a
different system. The windpipes of animals including monkeys for
instance are higher up in their throat. For this reason, whatever food
they swallow never gets into their windpipe and consequently, they do
not run the risk of choking.Despite
our dangers and difficulties in taking nutrition, our unique voice box
structure allows for speech. The constant risk of getting food into the
windpipe, on the other hand, is eliminated by reflexes gained during
infancy and by an organ called the uvula, which is a little flap of
tissue. Briefly the lower position for the voice box's structure is
unique to human beings.Evolutionists
of course assert that natural selection has chosen the more
advantageous structure over time, but the more advantageous larynx
would only result in incoherence. But the true situation is exactly the
opposite, and entirely at variance with the evolutionary rationale. This
odd fact is something that Charles Darwin tried to explain away"
..it is an odd fact that every food and liquid we swallow has to pass
over the opening to the windpipe with the risk of slipping into our
lungs." (Darwin C.1859 On the Origin of Species, Facsimile edition.
Cambridge: Harvard University Press, p. 191.)When
we examine the features of the voice box, we discover a miracle of
creation with details that have been meticulously calculated. The voice
boxes of babies are positioned higher up in the throat than in adults.
This way, the infants can breathe while suckling, without running the
risk of getting their mothers milk down into the windpipes and lungs.
Yet before the infant gains the ability to speak, this voice box which
has up until now been a hindrance for speech lowers itself in the
throat. In other words, it develops in the right way just at the right
time.This
example once again reveals that human beings enjoy a perfect creation.
Allah, the Lord of all the universes, the One Who creates man, grants
him a body proper for its needs, protects babies against choking, and
lets them speak by placing their voice box at the right position with an
ideal timing.In one verse, Allah proclaims: "He created Man and taught him clear expression." (The Quran 55:3)
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Unlike
the descriptions of the devil in Christian doctrine, Shaytan (Satan:The
Devil) is not a fallen angel; rather he is a Jinn (A creation of Allah
that was created before humankind from smokeless flame. They are
referred to at times as spirit beings, banshees, poltergeists, phantoms
and so forth) who can think, reason and has free will.Allah
allowed him to reside amongst the Angels, but because of his pride and
arrogance he despairs of ever knowing Allah's mercy and has vowed not to
inhabit the depths of Hell alone. Satan's wish is to take as many human
beings with him to the Hellfire as he can. Make no mistake about it;
Satan is mankind's mortal enemy. He is cunning, crafty and supremely
arrogant.
The Qur'an warns us of his enmity over and over "O children of Adam. Let not Shaytan deceive you..." (Quran 7:27)"Surely Shaytan is an enemy to you so take him as an enemy..." (Quran 35:6)"...And whoever takes Shaytan as a protector or helper instead of Allah, has surely suffered a manifest loss." (Quran 4:119)
It
is important to understand that even Satan himself recognises the
Oneness of Allah and His right to be worshipped. Allah has informed us
that the promises of Satan are nothing but deceptions and lies, and
Satan concurs, for he can offer nothing.
"And
Shaytan will say when the matter has been decided: "Verily, Allah
promised you a promise of truth. And I too promised you, but I betrayed
you. I had no authority over you except that I called you, and you
responded to me. So do not blame me, but blame yourselves..." (Quran
14:22)
Every
act of disobedience that is hated by Allah is loved by Shaytan, he
loves immorality and sin. He whispers into the ears of the believers, he
disrupts prayer and the remembrance of Allah. One of Islam's greatest
scholars, Ibn ul Qayyim, may God have mercy on him, said: "One of his
(Satan's) plots is that he always bewitches people's minds until they
are deceived, he makes attractive to the mind that which will harm it".
Satan
has wide-ranging experience in the field of deception; he has tricks
and temptations and he whispers relentlessly. Satan is able to pinch and
poke, implanting thoughts and desires. However Allah has not left
humankind defenseless. He has provided us with weapons and one of the
greatest is information. Satan is our mortal enemy and in order to
combat his tricks and illusions we need to know him well. The long term
goal of Satan is to deprive as many people as possible of Paradise and
to lead them to Hell. To achieve this aim he has set many short term
goals. Being aware of these goals means we are able to arm ourselves
with weapons of defence.
Short Term Goals:
1.To
cause people to commit the great sin of shirk. Everyone who worships
something other than Allah, be it an idol, a statue, the sun, the moon, a
person or a principle, is in essence worshipping Satan.[Sh.Omar al
Ashqar in The world of the Jinn and Devils.]
2.To
encourage people to commit sins and acts of disobedience. When Satan
despairs of ever being worshipped he is content with being obeyed in
matters that seem insignificant.[At-Tirmidhi, Saheeh Muslim] He loves
immorality and sin because it has a direct effect on a person's
religious commitment.
3.To
prevent people from doing good deeds. Satan not only causes people to
commit sin and acts of disobedience, he is also content with preventing
them from doing acts of good. Satan is patient; he lays in wait, filling
our minds with doubts, and superstitions. When a person is planning on
doing a good deed or action, he whispers to them to avoid it and plants
small nagging doubts in their mind.
4.To
damage acts of worship. If Satan is not able to prevent people from
obeying Allah and performing righteous actions, he strives to corrupt
their acts of worship. When a person is praying he whispers and
distracts him. Satan's desire is to prevent a person from taking their
reward for praying with kushoo and eventually to lead him or her away
from Allah altogether.
5.To
cause mental and physical harm. In addition to causing believers to
commit acts of shirk, Satan also aims to cause physical and mental harm.
For instance he sends bad dreams to cause a person distress and fear.
He disturbs people from the time they are born right up until the moment
of death. In their final moments, he continues his whispering and
harassment to prevent a person from calling on Allah and confirming
their belief in God alone.
The means used by Shaytan to misguide people
Making
lies and deceptions appear attractive. Shaytan makes falsehood appear
in the guise of truth and truth appear in the guise of falsehood. He
does this by planting doubts in people's mind in exactly the same way as
he tempted our Father and Mother Adam and Eve. Whispers, doubts and
delusions are all part of his bag of tricks. Nowadays we see unlawful
activities being practiced by many; they are made to appear attractive
and are given names that draw a person towards it. God has given us a
great line of defense; once we equip ourselves with the knowledge of the
laws of Islam, this will unveil the plots of Satan and make it clear to
us his intent.
Tempting
people to extremism or negligence. If Satan finds a person is serious
and cautious, always trying to do the right thing, he tempts him to
strive to excess. He whispers, do not sleep when others sleep, do not
break your fast when others do and so on. If Shaytan sees that a person
is lazy or prone to look for the easy way he will tempt him to be
indifferent or negligent. He encourages procrastination and laziness. To
protect oneself from this, one should stay close to the Sunnah of
Prophet Muhammad, may Allah praise him.
Making
false promises. Quran stresses this evil ploy several times with great
emphasis. "Shaytan makes promises to them, and arouses in them false
desires; and Shaytan's promises are nothing but deceptions."(Quran
4:120) Satan fills people's heads with vain desires and wishes and keeps
them busy working on false dreams and rewards. This distracts them from
the more important things and working for the Hereafter. He calls
humankind to sin and transgression yet he claims to be giving sincere
advice.
Gradually
misleading people. Satan makes minor sins appear to be nothing until
they are piled high upon one another. Whenever Satan tricks a person
into committing a sin, he leads him straight on to another sin, and then
another and each time the sins become greater until finally he causes a
person to commit the greatest sin of all, disbelieving in Allah, or
ascribing partners to Him.
Causing
people to forget what is in their best interest. Human beings are
forgetful. It is a trait that in all of us and Our creator knows this
very well. "And indeed We made a covenant with Adam before, but he
forgot, and We found on his part no firm will-power." (Quran 20:115)
Satan takes this a step further by whispering until a person forgets
exactly what is good for him and what things will lead to sin. One
example where this could happen is where the religion of Allah is being
mocked in a light-hearted way. Allah cautions us not to take part in
such conversations. He says:
"And
when you see those who engage in a false conversation about Our Verses
(of the Quran) by mocking at them, stay away from them till they turn to
another topic. And if Satan causes you to forget, then after the
remembrance sit not you in the company of the wrongdoing people." (Quran
6:68)
Making
people afraid of his allies. Another way Satan misguides people is to
make them afraid of his (Satan's) troops and allies. He has surrounded
himself with evil minions, jinn and human beings. He instills the
thoughts that they are powerful and fearsome, and if not obeyed they can
harm us.
"It
is only Shaytan that suggests to you the fear of his supporters and
friends; so fear them not, but fear Me, if you are (true) believers."
(Quran3:175)
Satan
misguides a person through what he loves and desires. Satan finds out
what we love or desire and uses it against us. He also passes this
information on to his helpers and they attack us with the very things we
are attached to. How often are our prayers disturbed by thoughts of our
children or spouse? Are we guilty of shopping and delaying our prayer?
Satan senses what we like and then sets about to twist our thoughts.
By
instilling doubts. Satan does not want anyone to turn to Allah in
repentance, regretting (past mistakes) and turning towards what is right
and good.Instead he wants to divert people away from Allah by using
many kinds of temptations and baseless arguments. He instills doubts to
make a person feel anxious and uncertain.
Through
alcohol, gambling, idolatry, witchcraft and fortunetelling. Although
Allah warns us against these practices, human beings are weak and Satan
takes advantage of this by making these practices look attractive or
worthwhile. He encourages people to engage in these practices because
they can easily lead to evil consequences and bad results. People may
engage in this sort of behavior thinking it will be fun or interesting
and they soon find that the consequences are neither of those things.
Gambling is a serious addiction that destroys wealth and lives; alcohol
makes people behave like fools and encourages one to engage in risky
behaviour; idolatry is fraught with evil consequences, the worst being
the sin of worshipping something other than Allah; believing in
witchcraft and fortunetelling is a sign of irrational thinking and an
irrational person has no control over himself. He could easily be led
into evil situations that pull him further and further away from Allah.
"Oh
you who believe! Intoxicants (all kinds of alcoholic drinks), and
gambling, [sacrificing on] stone alters [to other than Allah], and
Al-Azlam are an abomination of Shaytan's handiwork. So avoid (strictly
all) that (abomination) in order that you may be successful." (Quran
5:90)
Encouraging
negligence.If the believer adheres firmly to the straight path and
calls on Allah to protect himself, Shaytan is prevented from leading him
astray or misguiding him.However, if he is negligent or lazy Shaytan
takes full advantage to attack while the believer's defenses are
down.Immersing oneself in all the aspects of Islam is the way to be safe
from Shaytan. Being negligent about our Islamic obligations keeps one
away from the constant flow of Allah's mercy. When a person grows strong
in Islam and his faith is firmly entrenched in his heart, Shaytan is
the one who is afraid.
Arabic Terms:
Shaytan-
sometimes spelled shaitan or shaytaan.It is the word used in Islam and
the Arabic language to denote the devil or Satan, the personification of
evil.
Al-Azlam
- is the practice of casting featherless arrows to predict situations.
It was prevalent in pre Islamic Arabia (includes such things as drawing
lots, and trying to predict the future
Jinn
- A creation of Allah that was created before humankind from smokeless
flame. They are referred to at times as spirit beings, banshees,
poltergeists, phantoms and so forth.
Shirk
- a word that implies ascribing partners to Allah, or ascribing divine
attributes to other than Allah, or believing that the source of power,
harm and blessings comes from another besides Allah.
Kushoo - the act of being completely solemn, submissive and humble towards Allah during the prayer.
source newmuslims.com
Do
you sometimes feel that your Salah [prayer] is not quite having the
effect it is supposed to on you and your life? Have you ever considered
that perhaps it is because we are not giving it its due importance? It
seems we have lost [or were never taught] that ability to 'connect' in
Salah that makes all the difference in its effect on us.
Consider the following examples of those who came before us:
The
Muslims once headed out with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon
him) on way to battle. During the trip the Prophet (peace and blessings
be upon him) ordered two companions, one of the Ansar [helpers] and one
of the Muhajireen [emigrants], to stand guard over them. As they did the
Muhajir decided to rest while the Ansari chose to stand in prayer.
Along came a disbeliever and cast an arrow striking the Ansari in the
chest. The Ansari pulled out the arrow and continued in prayer. The
disbeliever struck him with a second arrow.Again the Ansari removed it
and continued his prayer. A third arrow was cast but now the Ansari
could no longer stand and finally fell bleeding into his Ruku [bowing
position] and Sujood [prostration]. The aggressor fled as the Muhajir
rushed to his brother's aid, "Subhanallah! Why didn't you alert me from
the first arrow?" The Ansari replied, "I was in the middle of a
[beautiful] Surah and didn't wish to interrupt my recitation of it."
Imam
Bukhari was once stung by a wasp 17 times while standing in prayer.
When he finished, he felt some discomfort and asked if anyone was aware
of what caused it.
Ibn
Zubair (May God be pleased with him) stood firm and unflinching in his
prayer while catapults fired upon the ground he stood on.
It
was said that when Ali (May God be pleased with him) washed in
preparation for prayer, he always went pale and trembled with anxiety as
he thought of himself about to stand before his Lord.
Another companion needed an amputation. He requested that it be performed while he was engaged in Salah.
An
entire wall collapsed in the mosque that one companion was praying in,
but he was too engrossed to realize what happened till his prayer was
completed.
How
did they attain that level of pleasure and inner peace that Salah is
meant to inspire? Is it possible for us to reach that level too? How can
we make our Salah effective?
To
read more and learn how we too can try to achieve this download 'Love
of Allah Experience The Beauty of Salah' (you can also order a free copy
of this book from The Quran Project).
