D) The Qur’an on the Cerebrum:
God has said in the Qur’an about one of the evil unbelievers
who forbade the Prophet Muhammad_from praying at the Kaaba:
{ No! If he does not stop, We will take him
by the naseyah (front of the head), a lying,
sinful naseyah (front of the head)! } (Qur’an,
96:15-16)
Why did the Qur’an describe the front of the head as being
lying and sinful? Why didn’t the Qur’an say that the person was
lying and sinful? What is the relationship between the front of the
head and lying and sinfulness?
If we look into the skull at the front of the head, we will find
the prefrontal area of the cerebrum (see figure 12). What does
physiology tell us about the function of this area? A book entitled
Essentials of Anatomy & Physiology says about this area: “The
motivation and the foresight to plan and initiate movements occur
in the anterior portion of the frontal lobes, the prefrontal area.
This is a region of association cortex...” Also the book says: “In
relation to its involvement inmotivation, the prefrontal area is also
thought to be the functional center for aggression....”
So, this area of the cerebrum is responsible for planning,
motivating, and initiating good and sinful behavior and is responsible
for the telling of lies and the speaking of truth. Thus, it is
proper to describe the front of the head as lying and sinful when
someone lies or commits a sin, as the Qur’an has said: {...A lying,
sinful naseyah (front of the head)!}
Figure 12: Functional regions of the left hemisphere of the cerebral cortex. The prefrontal
area is located at the front of the cerebral cortex. (Essentials of Anatomy & Physiology,
Seeley and others, p. 210.)
Scientists have only discovered these functions of the prefrontal
area in the last sixty years, according to Professor Keith L.
Moore.
E) The Qur’an on Seas and Rivers:
Modern Science has discovered that in the places where two
different seas meet, there is a barrier between them. This barrier
divides the two seas so that each sea has its own temperature,
salinity, and density. For example, Mediterranean sea water is
warm, saline, and less dense, compared to Atlantic ocean water.
When Mediterranean sea water enters the Atlantic over the Gibraltar
sill, it moves several hundred kilometers into the Atlantic at a
depth of about 1000 meters with its own warm, saline, and less dense characteristics. The Mediterranean water stabilizes at this depth (see figure 13).
Figure 13: The Mediterranean sea water as it enters the Atlantic over the Gibraltar sill with
its own warm, saline, and less dense characteristics, because of the barrier that
distinguishes between them. Temperatures are in degrees Celsius (C°). (Marine Geology,
Kuenen, p. 43, with a slight enhancement).
Although there are large waves, strong currents, and tides in
these seas, they do not mix or transgress this barrier.
The Holy Qur’an mentioned that there is a barrier between two
seas that meet and that they do not transgress. God has said:
{ He has set free the two seas meeting together.
There is a barrier between them.
They do not transgress. } (Qur’an, 55:19-20)
But when the Qur’an speaks about the divider between fresh
and salt water, it mentions the existence of “a forbidding partition”
with the barrier. God has said in the Qur’an:
{ He is the one who has set free the two kinds
of water, one sweet and palatable, and the
other salty and bitter. And He has made
between them a barrier and a forbidding
partition} (Qur’an, 25:53)
One may ask, why did the Qur’an mention the partition when
speaking about the divider between fresh and salt water, but did
not mention it when speaking about the divider between the two
seas?
Modern science has discovered that in estuaries, where fresh
(sweet) and salt water meet, the situation is somewhat different
from what is found in places where two seas meet. It has been
discovered that what distinguishes fresh water from salt water in
estuaries is a “pycnocline zone with a marked density discontinuity
separating the two layers.” This partition (zone of separation) has
a different salinity from the fresh water and from the salt water
(see figure 14).
Figure 14: Longitudinal section showing salinity (parts per thousand ‰) in an estuary.
We can see here the partition (zone of separation) between the fresh and the salt water.
(Introductory Oceanography, Thurman, p. 301, with a slight enhancement.)
This information has been discovered only recently, using
advanced equipment to measure temperature, salinity, density,
oxygen dissolubility, etc. The human eye cannot see the difference
between the two seas that meet, rather the two seas appear to us as
one homogeneous sea. Likewise, the human eye cannot see the
division of water in estuaries into the three kinds: fresh water, salt
water, and the partition (zone of separation).
F) The Qur’an on Deep Seas and Internal
Waves:
God has said in the Qur’an:
{Or (the unbelievers’ state) is like the darkness
in a deep sea. It is covered by waves,
above which are waves, above which are
clouds. Darknesses, one above another. If a
man stretches out his hand, he cannot see
it.... } (Qur’an, 24:40)
This verse mentions the darkness found in deep seas and
oceans, where if a man stretches out his hand, he cannot see it. The
darkness in deep seas and oceans is found around a depth of 200
meters and below. At this depth, there is almost no light (see figure
15). Below a depth of 1000 meters there is no light at all. Human beings are not able to dive more than forty meters without the aid
of submarines or special equipment. Human beings cannot survive
unaided in the deep dark part of the oceans, such as at a depth of
200 meters.
almost all of the seven colors of the light spectrum are absorbed one after another in the
first 200 meters, except the blue light. (Oceans, Elder and Pernetta, p. 27.)
Scientists have recently discovered this darkness by means of
special equipment and submarines that have enabled them to dive
into the depths of the oceans.
We can also understand from the following sentences in the
previous verse, “...in a deep sea. It is covered by waves, above
which are waves, above which are clouds....”, that the deep
waters of seas and oceans are covered by waves, and above these
waves are other waves. It is clear that the second set of waves are
the surface waves that we see, because the verse mentions that
above the second waves there are clouds. But what about the first
waves? Scientists have recently discovered that there are internal
waves which “occur on density interfaces between layers of different
densities.” (see figure 16).
Figure 16: Internal waves at interface between two layers of water of different
densities. One is dense (the lower one), the other one is less dense (the upper
one). (Oceanography, Gross, p. 204.)
The internal waves cover the deep waters of seas and oceans because the deep waters have a higher density than the waters above them. Internal waves act like surface waves. They can also break, just like surface waves. Internal waves cannot be seen by the human eye, but they can be detected by studying temperature or salinity changes at a given location.
No comments:
Post a Comment