fountain 74

MARCH • APRIL 2010 ISSUE 74

A MAGAZINE OF SCIENTIFIC AND SPIRITUAL THOUGHT

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4 4829The Power of Literature

Complementary Stories of the Cosmos

Inside a Patient’s Room

After having reached Him, all desires and wishes end,

all the excitements of spiritual journeying instantly cease,

and feelings and thoughts become mercy,

like moisture condensing into dew.

EDITORIAL

he semantic roots of a word may open up new horizons which relate it to a broader frame of reference, a frame we normally would not connect with this word. This is also true for subsidiary meanings of

a word, which are usually overshadowed by the primary meaning. The Arabic word for literature is adab, for instance, which means a lot more than what we understand when we say “literature” in English. Adab refers to “good man-ners, gentleness, elegance, refinement, and perfection” as much as it does to literature, and it is “interpreted in relation to a person’s lifestyle, conduct, and integrity and as a means to the flourishing of that person in spirituality and the purification of the heart.” The lead article of this issue does not speak of “literature” in terms of a scholarly discipline alone, but expounds more on this interesting connection of “letters” and “good conduct.”

Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Polkinghorne are our guests in Matter & Be-yond this issue. Professor Tucker from Yale University correlates the spiritual crisis we face in modern times with the ecological crisis on the Earth. Tucker says we are obsessed with economic growth and this preoccupation is creating a number of different types of alienation, sadness, even addictions, because the emptiness of modern consumer life is suffocating the human soul. Polk-inghorne, a Fellow of the Royal Society and the former President of Queens’ College, Cambridge, says that science does not tell us the whole story. For him science “needs supplementation by other forms of insight.” Further, he empha-sizes how valuable we humans are when he says, “Obviously on the scale of the universe, we are very tiny creatures, and we inhabit a planet that is just a speck of dust, really in the great universe, but we are greater than all the stars because we know them and ourselves, and they know nothing.”

Each day new innovations in science and technology are introduced into our lives. It is often debatable whether scientific research is conducted for the sake of science to fulfill a human need, or if it is manipulated in a way to boost a consumerist economy by shoveling new products onto the market every day. Still, there are interesting findings and discoveries we can learn from the mass media and journals, which will inspire us each time with an appreciation of the glorious harmony found in the universe. Aiming to be a source of inspiration for those readers who seek knowledge through perceiving this harmony, The Fountain is launching Science Square, a new section which will feature a brief account of some of the most interesting scientific news, compiled from recently released papers and reviews. Proceed to the department and see how running barefoot is less damaging than running with shoes, see how pure water can re-main liquid at temperatures down to –40 ºC, how cancer-causing DNA mutations are deciphered, and how scientists are inspired by the spider web.

TMARCH • APRIL 2010 ISSUE 74A MAGAZINE OF SCIENTIFIC AND SPIRITUAL THOUGHT

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Lead Article

Religion

SCIENCE SQUARE

www.fountainmagazine.com

LEAD ARTICLE

BIOLOGY

ENVIRONMENT

A MOMENT FOR REFLECTION

PERSPECTIVES

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10

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54

The Power of Literature

Endocytosis: How Cells Eat

Protecting of Life Forms Is a Moral Responsibility

Inside a Patient’s Room

Reflections on Noah’s Ark

M. Fethullah Gülen

Hamdi Sener

Interview with Mary Evelyn Tucker

Reverend Lucinda Miller / Gulsum Kucuksari

Sebnem Unlu

Psychology / A True Understanding of Self for Self-Actualization Izzet Coban

EducatIon / RenewersYasin Ceran

RelIgIon / Complementary Stories of the CosmosInterview with John Polkinghorne

PhIlosophy / Categorical Confusions Regarding Omnipotence of GodNazif Muhtaroglu

ScıenceBIology / On Their Faces and BacksMesut Sahin

Technology / Quantum-Inspired World of Computers: Science or Fiction?Omer D. Ikramoglu

ChemIstry / Iron Oxide Nanoparticles and Surah IronKamil Ezgin / Omer Faruk Gulderen

BIophysıcs / The Tiniest Captains of the OceanAhmet Uysal

See-ThInk-BelIeve / It’s me, Peter, your Muscular System!Irfan Yilmaz

ScIence Square

• Barefoot Running• The Molecule with a Thousand Faces• Cancer-Causing DNA Mutations Are Deciphered• Scientists Inspired by the Spider Web

BelıefEMERALD HILLS OF THE HEART / IstiqamaM. Fethullah Gülen

Q&A / Measure in SelflessnessHikmet Isik

Arts & Culture

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In the most general sense, litera-ture is a discipline that studies elegant, measured, and harmo-nious words uttered or written in verse or prose in a form that

is congruent with the conditions of time and usually in compliance with the rules of the language. The Arabic word for literature is adab, which has a wider frame of connotation associ-ated with good manners, gentleness, elegance, refinement, and perfection. It has often been interpreted in relation to a person’s lifestyle, conduct, and integrity and as a means to the flour-ishing of that person in spirituality and purification of the heart. In this sense, adab falls in the domain of books on ethics or of treatises on Sufism, and therefore it is not usually covered with-in the discipline of literature. Even so, drawing upon its semantic roots, it is possible to refer to an indirect connec-tion between the two.

Moving on from that relation, I would like to open a small window onto the meaning of literature as I un-derstand it. However, I must first beg that my readers pardon my humble statements on a subject that is in fact beyond my ability, and that they judge this essay not on how it stands, but

MARCH / APRIL 2010 4

LEAD ARTICLE

M. Fethullah Gülen

LEAD ARTICLE

for the good intentions with which it was written. I should confess that just as I and people like me with narrow horizons cannot judge matters even in our own field properly, so too is it very difficult for us to express other matters very clearly, even when we may have judged them correctly. And I think this is gener-ally true of all who tackle this topic. For instance, after Imam Shafii had personally corrected his book Kitab al-Umm, and afterwards still others had repeatedly corrected it, he found that certain points still both-ered him. He raised his hands to God and admitted that no book can be faultless, except for divine revela-tions.

Even the enchanting states inspired by the most magnificent pieces of writing, the greatest works of art, the most eloquent words, and the most dazzling conceptions which are not based on divine speech and are not illumined with the shining of His light have a completely relative beauty. And even if they hold any value in terms of being a reflection or an echo of the beauties He possesses, they can hold ab-solutely no individual value of their own.

Nevertheless, this reality should never dishearten us or paralyze our determination to work. We should always think, speak, plan, try to realize what we have planned, and while doing all this, we should never forget that we can occasionally make mistakes, that very often we can fall into error. This is natural; as soon as we recognize them, we will correct them, try to compensate for our shortcomings and stick to seeking the best possible alternative.

1

Our decisions may not always be accurate, but we will try to fulfill what divine wisdom requires of us by implementing our human capacity for understanding and judgment (ijtihad).

So these humble contemplations must be seen in the same way. Speech was born with humanity, developed with humanity, and it constitutes a very signifi-cant depth of being human. So speech reached its contemporary level of ma-turity through history after having been repeatedly distilled through countless filters of thought and fashioned by masters of words, and then became what we now call literature. In this respect, it can be argued that the present moment of literature is brighter than its past, thus it can also be said that so too its future will be brighter than the present, or at least it should be so. As Said Nursi ex-plains, human beings will eventually turn completely toward knowledge (ilm) so that they will derive their power from knowledge. As a result the ultimate say will pass into the hands of knowledge. At the stage when knowledge shows such a level of development, the command of language and eloquence, reach-ing its peak, will outweigh all other values. Possibly, in such a period, in order to make others accept their ideas, people will use language as a weapon, try to penetrate hearts through their facility with language and conquer souls with the charm of literature.

IN THE FUTURE,

THE ULTIMATE SAY

WILL PASS INTO

THE HANDS OF

KNOWLEDGE. AT

THE STAGE WHEN

KNOWLEDGE SHOWS

SUCH A LEVEL OF

DEVELOPMENT,

THE COMMAND

OF LANGUAGE

AND ELOQUENCE,

REACHING ITS PEAK,

WILL OUTWEIGH ALL

OTHER VALUES.

MARCH / APRIL 20105


The reality of knowledge and speech manifested only concisely in Adam and it reached its most brilliant form with the Final Prophet, yielded its awaited fruit, and became fully realized in the Qur’an. Now, if the world is going to last any longer, in the years ahead, while knowledge reaches its peak, language too will rise to the rank of the interpreter of knowledge in almost all circles, accompanied by the most powerful of orators and richest of speeches voicing the truth.

The power of expression, which is always nourished and develops in the bosom of need and necessity, will flourish in this environment for one last time, make its voice heard as powerfully as it can. If you will, you could also say this will be the re-living of the Age of the Qur’an in its most mature state, an Age of the Qur’an where love of truth and love of knowl-edge, where zeal to understand and passion to explain, where human values and their appreciation will live alongside one another. Incidentally, I would like to underline one point: future architects of thought and masters of language should do whatever they can to protect and honor the power of ex-pression, for it has fallen into the incapable hands of people like us. They should untie its tongue, so that it can voice our own world of thoughts. Otherwise, it is obvious that we will keep on hearing the cawing of crows where we expect to hear the singing of nightingales; we will not be able to be free of the distress of thorns on the way to roses.

The power of speech and refinement of eloquence have always devel-oped, found its proper consistency, and come to maturity in the realm of literature and under the tutelage of literary thought. However, it is also very important what we understand—or we are supposed to understand—when literary thought or literature is mentioned.

Human beings have always expressed their feelings, thoughts, and the inspirations of their heart through cinema, theatre, and symbolic painting, along with oral or written literature. When the subject extends beyond spo-ken or written language, naturally gesture, facial expression, sounds and other means replace words and sentences. Even so, they have never been able to truly substitute for speech and writing. The most reliable way for a people to preserve their literature and make it flourish in its own frame-work and fertile ground is to put it into a written form. This turns it into a common source to which individuals may refer to at any time. It allows it to become as widely accessible as possible, paving the way for it to become the national style of an entire society, the nation’s shared property. It thus becomes a field of exposition for future generations, an exhibition ground of verbal excellence, and a trust to the common conscience, guarded by national memory and perpetuating its own origin.

In this respect, we have always sought literature in the magical world of written or spoken words and always realized our acquaintance and en-counters with it among the pages of books and magazines. Whatever style is adopted in recounting a given subject – whether the work produced

REMAINING

INDIFFERENT TO

OTHERS’ VALUES

RESTRICTS WHAT IS

NORMALLY BROAD

AND UNIVERSAL, IS

AN OBSTRUCTION TO

GROWTH, CAUSING

AGONY FOR THE

LIVING, AND FALLING

FROM THE DEGREE

OF BEING ENVIED TO

A STATE OF ENVYING

OTHERS.

MARCH / APRIL 20107

is approached with an artistic con-cern or expressed in a plain style, whether a small, select audience is targeted or large crowds are ad-dressed – when literature is men-tioned, what comes first to mind is the written word.

It does not make any difference whether the subject of a piece of literature is religion, an idea, phi-losophy, or doctrine; literature is one of the most important ways that humans can transfer the ac-cumulation of knowledge they have gained through history from one generation to another. Through it they can sense all the depths and richness of yesterday in the present. They see the past and present as two dimensions of reality, and sa-vor the future in its relative depth.

Furthermore, believers should

firstly be faithful to their heritage and refer to it frequently, as much as they embrace universal human values. They should emphasize the essence of their common con-science and take it as an essential constituent. They should use this heritage as the canvas for the em-broidery in which they depict their literary feelings and understanding of art, so that they do not destroy the spirit of their own literature, and are not constrained solely to foreign borrowings. If they use their own sources and weave their own cultural values on their own loom, there does not seem to be an obsta-cle to their progress, and they can walk to universality carrying the in-terpretations of their own time.

Believers should place the main sources of belief, cultural heritage

and memory of universal values, in the center of their lives. Thus after having secured themselves from deviation, believers should strive to establish connections with the outside world; remaining indiffer-ent to others’ values restricts what is normally broad and universal, is an obstruction to growth, caus-ing agony for the living, and falling from the degree of being envied to a state of envying others; the condi-tion of Third-world countries today presents so many living examples of that.

These countries always go through a period of standstill in their literature, sometimes due to customs, sometimes because of the influence of local understand-ings, and sometimes due to a fear of self-alienation—which can be empathized to a certain extent. Approaching literature liberally to a large degree ceased due to exces-sive reactions; some very important sources of inspiration were dried up, and efforts to enrich literature were perceived as fantasy and sub-sequently dismissed. Moreover, the field of literature was further nar-rowed at certain times by favoring a region or dialect at the expense of other varieties of the language; the branches with potential to develop were cut off and the roots were re-moved by prohibiting the field of literature from being ploughed. Thus, in such countries, the de-velopment of a language that may have been more representative of the wider society was prevented, and instead a dialect on the mar-gins has been preferred over oth-ers, and as a result their literature was reduced to the voice of a small minority rather than becoming a respectable representative of litera-


ture in the world. This can also be called surrendering to oblivion.

In fact, what becomes dormant, stops growing, and what is not open to developing withers. What-ever is static then topples over. And that which does not give fruit dies. This is not limited to literature; it is true for almost every subject, from religion to thought, from art to phi-losophy.

Nevertheless, literature does not simply mean playing on words with written or spoken language skills and producing phrases people will like; it means making the art of expression lovable with the dimen-sions of eloquence and clarity. It is the water and air of feeding, adorn-ing, and enriching daily language with the cleanest, purest, most lov-able, and lasting material, and it is a treasure which increases with use.

A writer of verse or prose who pens his or her thoughts with lit-erary considerations always relies upon a purpose and overtone; us-ing a rich vocabulary, harmonious statements, and a grand style, writ-ers activate words, long and short, aiming for excellence of expression. While moving toward this aim, writers place all the words or sen-tences they have picked and fitted

in their places in such a way that they all sound out like notes serving to support the general theme of the tune they play. As these sounds and notes voice their intended ideal, they continue to play in the background, reflect-ing the author’s mode of thinking, general tendencies and mood.

In a lyric verse, produced by a master of expression the words, feel as if they are filled with that person’s excitement. The words, sentences, or lines, springing from a literary heart kindled with epic feelings, ring in our ears like the march of a glorious army. All the words in a masterfully writ-ten drama resonate in the depths of our soul and almost bring to life the story therein. A literary person is able to think very differently and reach different judgments; writers always pursue quality and strive to leave future generations a legacy they will gladly inherit and respect.

Actually, like literary language, daily language also has its own kind of beauty, ease, allure, and naturalness that entices pure pleasure. However,

PEOPLE OF LETTERS

NEED TO HAVE HIGH

MORALS AND ACT WITHIN

THE UNIVERSAL CODES OF

CONDUCT PRESCRIBED IN

DIVINE SCRIPTURES.

MARCH / APRIL 20109

literary language is poetic, musical, and constructs a pleasing whole in harmony with the meanings it holds. It is superior in linguistic utilization, taste, and refine-ment in the way that demonstrates coherence within the text as a whole and cohesion between words and sentences. Let alone feeling and savoring these, it is sometimes very difficult for people who lack the apti-tude to even understand them.

All that notwithstanding, it is not correct to regard literary style as the language of an upper class or an aristocratic group. On the contrary, even if they cannot penetrate as far as the secondary meanings and conno-tations suggested by the composition, people of every level should somehow be able to understand, and they should be able to benefit from that source, even if only in a limited way. Thus, in time they will be elevated to a level where they can express their feelings and thoughts more comfortably and gain greater language skills through the expansion of their knowledge. In the meantime, they will consolidate what they already know of language, enrich it by making suitable contri-butions as far as they can, and add new depths to their horizons of thought.

No matter at what level, the language almost all of us speak today, which has quietly settled in our memo-ries through generations, is to a great extent the fruit of master poets’ and writers’ concerted efforts that have been adopted by our souls. With the sensitivity of a goldsmith, these masters of expression presented us with the beautiful jewels of expression and necklaces of words that they prepared; thanks to their legacy, we express ourselves through this rich resource to the best of our abilities. Even though not everybody under-stands the magnificent works they produced and the aesthetic depth in the spirit of those works, all of us have always appreciated them and felt eager for more. For such a level of appreciation one does not need to know the writer’s artistic anxiety, power to construct, mental strain, success in planning, nor his or her true value to the extent a skilful goldsmith knows the pre-cious stones.

People have always held the literary artists in high regard, certainly with exceptions. They have applauded these people’s efforts, appreciated their labor, and fre-quently expressed this appreciation by imitating them. Then what falls to literary people is that they put their language skills and artistic talents at the service of the right, good, and beautiful, instead of hurting the

souls of the masses—who can be regarded as their ap-prentices—by describing what is corrupt, or contami-nating people’s pure thoughts with dirty images, and condemning them to the slavery of materialism with descriptions of carnal desires. According to Bediüzza-man Said Nursi, people of letters need to have high morals and act within the universal codes of conduct prescribed in divine scriptures. He also reminds us of the divine source where the “power of expression” originates from and advises us to duly respect this ca-pacity, which is regarded as an important depth of our humanity.

Literary styles of expression are different than other styles. For example, in scientific writing or speech it is essential to have a sound pattern of reasoning, a sys-tematic thought, well-versed statements, and no men-tal, logical, and emotional gaps should be left unfilled. Oratory style emphasizes proofs and arguments, main-taining interest and enthusiasm, making occasional repetitions, supporting the narration with paraphrases when necessary, using colorful expression, and enliven-ing the speech by inspirational shifts without detracting from the main axis. On the other hand, literary style re-quires a variety of linguistic arts, such as vividness of ex-pression, accuracy of language, beauty of presentation, richness of imagination, the utilization of metaphors, parables, idioms, figures of speech, and allusions—as long as it does not reach the point of excess. Because excess will spoil—as in everything else—the naturalness of language and muddy the heavenly spring of expres-sion, people of sound taste will mostly find it strange. As Said Nursi also expressed, the wording should be as ornate as the nature of the meaning allows. Form should follow content, and while it is being crafted, permission for literary license should be requested from the meaning in order to avoid excess. The bright-ness and resplendence of style should be given proper due, but the aim and intended meaning should never be neglected. The imagination should be given room to

maneuver, but not at the cost of the Truth.

Note1. The author refers to a theory in the methodology of Islam-

ic jurisprudence, which is called ashbah bi’l haqq (“very much like the truth”). According to this theory, when an absolute ruling on a certain issue cannot be found in the Qur’an or in the practice of the Prophet, scholars exercise the procedures in legal methodology and reach a decision with a hope and conviction that their decision is the closest to the will of God.

The smallest life forms that constitute our bodies, that is, cells, are fairly well organized structures. Even though the cytoplasm (i.e. the interior section of a cell) is extremely crowded and dynamic, cells never lose the coordination

that keeps them alive, unless an external factor comes into play. To-day, as the secrets of the cell are slowly unraveled these fascinating structures continue to challenge thousands of scientists throughout the world. However, it seems that there is still a long way to go before we attain a unified model that interconnects the numerous pathways of various intracellular functions.

For the sake of simplicity, the very complex—yet flawless—organi-zation of a single cell can be portrayed as a city. Even in a very small city that has a relatively low population there are different establish-ments of various sizes and capabilities that work in concert. Likewise, in order to keep the cell alive the intracellular organelles and pro-teins of a cell complement each other’s functions. Even though the majority of cities may have the resources to supply themselves, they also need to import and export goods. In addition, some cities may have greater industrial, residential, or agricultural strengths, making it necessary for it to communicate and trade with neighboring towns

How Cells Eat

ENDOCYTOSIS

IS THE PROCESS

BY WHICH

CELLS TAKE IN

SUBSTANCES

FROM OUTSIDE.

BIOLOGY


Hamdi Sener

to eliminate shortages. In a similar way, cells have to communicate with neighboring cells, and bring in new sustenance and get rid of waste at different stages in their life cycles. In this article we will focus on one of the key elements of the import mechanism that is used by living cells, endocytosis.

Endocytosis is the process by which cells take in substances from

outside. Since living cells are surrounded by a membrane, the cargo mol-ecules, which are too large to penetrate through the membrane, have to be internalized by different means; this can be classified as Cell eating (i.e. phagocytosis: the endocytosis of large solid materials), cell drinking (i.e. pinocytosis: the endocytosis of liquids in large amounts) and receptor mediated endocytosis (the internalization of molecules that have specific receptors on the cell membrane) (Figure 1). During the course of these events, the portion of the cell membrane that surrounds the cargo is also internalized. However, at the present time, very little is known about the mechanisms that cause the cell membrane to invaginate and eventually be pinched off during the onset of endocytosis. Here we will concentrate

on receptor mediated endocytosis, which has been intriguing biologists for more than three decades now.

Receptor molecules, which are located on the outer surface of living cells, function like receiving docks for cells. These are sites where the mem-brane-encountering molecule is first engaged. The cargo molecules, which arrive at the receiving docks, are often known as ligands (Latin ligare = to bind). Ligand molecules are either secreted from a neighboring cell or come directly from the bloodstream and can bind to the specific receptor molecules on the cell surface. In most cases the ligand is either a signaling molecule, which transmits information to the cell from the extracellular mi-lieu, or a nutritious substance that needs to be internalized via endocytosis.

Unlike other forms of endocytosis, receptor mediated endocytosis oc-curs in a very controlled way. First of all, the ligand determines whether en-docytosis will occur or not. Basically, a ligand molecule that does not have a corresponding receptor on the cell membrane cannot interact with the cell

Figure 1. Cell eating, cell drinking, and receptor mediated endocytosis

MARCH / APRIL 201011


and, as a result, will not be internalized. For instance, a certain virus, which can cause severe lesions in the mouths of horses, can-not infect human cells, as our cells do not have the receptors that link the vi-rus to the cell membrane. Secondly, the ligand cell

determines how much intake will take place. That is, cells can control the amount of receptors on their membranes and thus how much the ligands that are recognized by these receptors will be internalized. By acting in this way, cells can adapt to different conditions by controlling the rate of endocytosis through the receptor molecules. The third way of control is concerned with the size of the molecules that are to be internalized. As we will discuss below, receptor mediated endocytosis is performed via some scaffold proteins that form cages (i.e. coats) around the membrane. These cages are fairly small in size, and molecules that are larger than 100 nano-meters (100 nanometer is one-thousandth of the thickness of a human hair) cannot fit into them nor enter the cells along this pathway.

The conformation of the plasma membrane changes substantially dur-ing endocytosis. Given that the cell membrane has a fluidic nature, it must be accompanied by a firmer construction in order to perform these struc-tural modifications. In the case of receptor mediated endocytosis, this func-tion is carried out by clathrin cages (or clathrin coats), which are formed adjacent to the membrane. The clathrin protein is a three-legged molecule

Figure 2. a) A clathrin coat (or cage) formed by the polymerization of multiple three-legged clathrin molecules. A single

clathrin molecule is shown died with cyan. Adapted from RCSB protein data bank

website (http://www.rcsb.org/pdb). b) The different stages of receptor-mediated endo-cytosis. The entire process takes a little less

than a minute.

a

b


which can freely diffuse inside the cell. Howev-er, when a ligand molecule binds to a receptor on the membrane then multiple clathrins aggre-gate into that region and polymerize into cages composed of pentagons and hexagons (Figure 2a). These cages surround the cell membrane, compelling it to engulf the cargo (ligand) by in-vagination. When the cargo is entirely enclosed by the membrane a scission protein seals off the enclosed cargo from the plasma membrane (Fig-ure 2b). The completely internalized membrane pouch rapidly casts away its clathrin coat with a quick uncoating reaction. After this point, the membrane pouch, including the cargo, can be transported to the inner compartments of the cell. In living cells, this process takes a little less than a minute. Even though the lifetimes of the clathrin coats are not very long, scientists have found ways of ascertaining the detailed organiza-tion of these molecules.

One of the most intriguing findings about the clathrin scaffold (or coat) is its breathtaking geometry. X-ray crystallography studies showed that the cages formed by the polymerization of multiple clathrin proteins are com-posed of pentagons and hexagons (Figure 3a). It has been also shown that in the majority of the cases the three dimensional structures of the cages are very similar to a soccer ball, where 12 pentagons are accompanied by 20 hexagons in order to create a curve (Figure 3b). However this is not the only geometry that clathrin coats can have. Electron microscopy im-ages taken on frozen cells reveal that clathrins can also form some large flat arrays on the membrane which look exactly like honeycombs. In this configuration the pentagons are missing and all the clathrins align in the hexagon geometry to preserve a flat surface (Figure 3c).

The function of the honeycomb-shaped flat clathrin arrays is still a mys-tery. All we know is that they are more durable than the cages. In other words, although they do not have definite sizes like cages, they last much longer. Some scientists believe that these structures might be functional in the internalization of huge cargo molecules, such as bacteria,

1 however,

these claims still need to be proved. More research is needed if scientists are to be able to better understand clathrin-based endocytosis. Neverthe-less, the fact that a simple geometrical modification at the molecular level can alter the entire mechanism of a biological process is on its own a very fascinating discovery.

Hamdi Sener is a biophysicist living in Boston. He can be contacted at [email protected].

* Figures 1 and 3 are taken from wikipedia.org

Note1. Even though bacteria are the smallest cells known, compared to the regular cargo

molecules they are gigantic structures.

Figure 3. The breath-taking geometry of

clathrin scaffold

c

b

a

Psychologists have been using the concept of “self-actual-ization” to describe those who are immensely successful in realizing their potential (Maslow, 1943; Goldstein, 1934). The actualization of one’s potential strengths is regarded

as a key issue for having a satisfying life. Even though the concept of self-actualization is rather new among psychologists, the idea of self-actualization is quite old. According to religious texts, the human being is the “vice-gerent on earth,” representing God (Qur’an, 2:30; Bible, Gn 1:26-28). Therefore, fulfill-ment of that goal (or responsibility, from a religious point of view) requires individuals to realize their potential. This ultimate goal, realizing one’s potential, however, necessi-tates a balanced view of the self, which today is overshadowed by more common uses, such as self-esteem, self-concept, or self-confidence. In other words, a clear view of one’s “self” is a prerequisite for understanding “self-actualiza-tion.” This article offers an alternative to the mainstream views for understanding how the

self can be understood.“Who am I?” People from all backgrounds, experienc-

es, and ages find different responses to this complicated

THE “SELF” IS

BASICALLY DEFINED

IN TERMS OF A

RELATIONSHIP

BETWEEN HUMAN

BEINGS AND GOD.

MOREOVER, THE

EXISTENCE OF

THE SELF CAN

BE EXPLAINED

DIRECTLY WITH

THE EXISTENCE

OF GOD. I CALL

THIS A “VERTICAL

PERSPECTIVE.”

PSYCHOLOGY


Zekeriya Ozsoy


question. Understanding one’s self is probably the greatest intellectual challenge for human beings. A sim-ple answer to this question can be found via basic states of belonging: professional status, family member-ship, social status, and so on. How-ever, such simple responses do not help us to resolve the underlying existential problems. The so-called question, in other words, seeks for an answer about the “self” itself, rather than for different social la-bels that are embedded in the self.

Early psychologists attempted to define the “self” in various ways. One basic definition relies on the physical body as the boundary be-tween the self and others. This simplistic understanding of the self was extended by Gordon Allport (1961) to include psychological components, such as self-esteem. A further conceptualization of self regarded other people and prior experiences as parts of the self. Wil-liam James, who had an important influence in the history of psychol-ogy, defined the self in three dimen-sions. Material or bodily self refers to one’s possessions, including ev-erything one owns, the social self

implies our social roles within the social environment, and the spiri-tual self includes thoughts and feelings about who we are (James, 1890).

Interestingly enough, psycholo-gists after William James have tended to focus on the first and second components of the self. Today, psychology has developed branches, such as neuroscience, so-cial psychology, and transpersonal psychology, which can be regarded as a continuation of the material, social, and spiritual self, respec-tively. More specifically, however, the third dimension, as transper-sonal psychology and the psychol-ogy of religion, is not regarded as being part of mainstream psychol-ogy. Accordingly, the psychology of religion has been studied in uni-versity theology departments rather than psychology departments. This should not come as a surprise, be-cause the search for an understand-ing of the “self” intensified among psychologists during the twentieth century, a time when religion was on the wane. The philosophical roots of this perspective can be seen even in the dual-

ism postulated by Descartes as the body-mind distinction. Thus, we can view William James’ definition as a resistance against the under-standing of that period.

Today’s popular conception of the self has evolved into another three-dimensional definition that is similar to that of William James: the individual self, which is defined as differentiation from others, the rela-tional self, referring to assimilation with others, and the collective self, achieved by inclusion into larger social groups (Sedikides & Brewer, 2001). Although this perspective is functional in understanding the individual within the context, it reduces the existence of the “self” to a simple interaction between the individual and others (social environment); but this is a purely profane approach and excludes the spiritual self. Today, psychologists use instruments of self-concept or self-esteem; these have been stan-dardized with national norms to compare respondents to others and judge them as having high or low self-esteem. The psychologi-

cal norms are, therefore, defined based on societal norms, which


are, by their very nature, arbitrary. I call this kind of conceptualization a “horizontal perspective,” as it lacks the complexity and richness of the inner world of human beings and reduces the self to the result of rela-tionships with the other selves that surround it.

On the other hand, the con-ceptualization of the self with the inclusion of a spiritual component can bring about alternative perspec-tives. In this perspective, the “self” is basically defined in terms of a relationship between human be-ings and God. Moreover, the exis-tence of the self can be explained directly with the existence of God. I call this a “vertical perspective.” Let’s delve into an example from re-ligious thinkers who dealt with self from spiritual aspects. Said Nursi (1951/2007), an Islamic scholar, provides a striking point that exem-plifies the relationship between the self and God:

An absolute and all-encompass-ing entity has no limits or terms and therefore cannot be shaped or formed, or determined in a way that will allow its essential nature to be comprehended. For example, light undeter-mined by darkness cannot be known or perceived. However, light can be determined if a real or hypothetical boundary line of darkness is drawn. In the same way, the Divine Attributes and Names (e.g., Knowledge, Power, Wisdom, and Compas-sion) cannot be determined, for they are all-encompassing and have no limits or like. There-fore, as their essence cannot be known or perceived, a hy-pothetical boundary is needed for them to become known. In

order to make Himself known through His Attributes and Names, God Almighty has drawn a hypothetical line before His all-encompassing Attributes and Names. This line is the hu-man [self].

1 By reflecting all of

His Attributes and Names on it and thereby making it an es-sential dimension of human existence, the self has become a Divine trust, an arena in which the manifestations of Divine Attributes and Names are re-flected in order to mirror the Divine Being. The self imagines within itself a fictitious lordship, power, and knowledge, which are reflections of their Divine counterparts, and thus posits a boundary line, hypothesizing a limit to the all-encompassing Di-vine Attributes, saying: “This is mine, and the rest is His.” The self thus makes a division. By means of the miniature measure it contains, the self slowly comes to understand the true nature of the Divine Attributes and Names. The self obtains a de-gree of understanding of God’s Absolute Knowledge through its partial knowledge and can intuit the Exalted Fashioner’s primary, originative art through its defec-tive, acquired art. For example, the self says: “I have built and arranged this house, so there must be One Who made and arranged this universe.” (Nursi, 1951/2007, p. 552)

Unlike the definition of the self in psychology, the vertical perspec-tive, which is defined as the self in relation to God and the rationale behind the existence of the self, is regarded in religion as facilitating one’s knowledge about the names

of God. This perspective has some practical implications. For example, it challenges the overuse of psychological concepts, such as self-esteem and self-confidence, which have often been emphasized and are regarded as the key to suc-cess in life in many textbooks con-cerned with psychology and educa-tion. In today’s competitive world, superiority to others is appreciated. There is a mechanism of social comparison that forces us to rank ourselves in comparison to others who belong to the same society. It comes as no surprise that such a vicious cycle will create extremely individualist and ego-centric per-sonalities. The self as represented in the concepts of self-esteem and self-concept becomes misleading, because this perception equates the self with egoism and self-centered-ness. As a result, the gap between “the self” and “knowledge of self” is increasing (Wickland & Eckert, 1992). As scholars attempt to de-velop “knowledge of self” with the horizontal perspective, deviations

SPIRITUAL PERSPECTIVE

OFFERS US THE

OPPORTUNITY TO

BECOME ACQUAINTED

WITH THE SELF THROUGH

TRYING TO UNDERSTAND

THE REFLECTIONS

OF GOD’S NAMES

(OR ATTRIBUTES) IN

THE UNIVERSE. THIS

PERSPECTIVE IS CONCISELY

REPRESENTED WITH THE

STATEMENT “WHOEVER

KNOWS ONESELF, KNOWS

GOD.”


from the real “self,” the essence of “self” that can be recognized through understanding God, can never be known.

This spiritual perspective of-fers us the opportunity to become acquainted with the self through trying to understand the reflections of God’s names (or attributes) in the Universe. This perspective is concisely represented with the state-ment “Whoever knows oneself, knows God,” an expression attrib-uted to different persons in history (Al-Arabi, 1980). Above all, as the pseudo-selves that we assume are based on our subjective ranking in comparison to others, the example given above encourages human beings to find the essence of the self through attempting to under-stand God. Attaining the goal of self-actualization becomes possible because personal development is a perpetual endeavor and individuals do not restrict themselves to their rivals. There is always a further tar-get to reach, since the individuals are guided by “the absolute and all-encompassing.”

Nevertheless, the prevalent con-cepts of the self do not cover the spiritual aspect of human beings. Individuals are forced to survive within a system that determines winners and losers, and this in turn can motivate people to attain their goals in different ways. While the so-called biased consideration of self—the horizontal compari-son—is restrictive in nature, the ver-tical perspective, which does not include a comparison but rather a connection, provides an unending, unlimited, and satisfying journey throughout one’s lifetime.

The modern view of the self, which is devoid of any spiritual

aspect, has incurred some negative results in the fields of religion and psychology. The field of psychol-ogy, except for Carl Jung, who ap-preciated the significance of the reli-gious understanding of self, as well as a few psychologists who have recognized that the spiritual dimen-sion makes people’s lives more meaningful, valuable and purpose-ful, has ignored a source of wisdom that has been generated over the centuries.

Conceptualization of the self merely within the individual and social aspects falls short of explain-ing and resolving many psychologi-cal phenomena, such as suicide, depression, and eating, and anxi-ety disorders. Such problems can be regarded as a consequence of an over-investment in particular aspects of the self to the neglect of deeper mechanisms, such as the conscience, benevolence, tran-scendence etc., which all together constitute the spiritual self. How-ever, there are a number of psy-chologists who have acknowledged this problem. Here is an example: “The more we invest in the self, the more we have to lose... Indeed, the most successful and outwardly perfect self may produce the great-est inclination to escape [from the self], because higher standards cre-ate greater vulnerability and hence greater stress.” (Baumeister, 1991, p. 31). According to this argument, “outwardly perfect selves” who have enough self-esteem and social status without spiritual richness cannot avoid such problems as suicide, binge eating or masochism, which are several of the ways to escape the self. Hopefully, the following decades will reveal how the consid-eration of the spiritual self, as well

as other conceptualizations, can improve our understanding of the self and simultaneously pave the way for understanding “self-actual-ization.”

Zekeriya Ozsoy is a doctoral stu-dent studying educational psychol-ogy. For correspondence with the author: [email protected].

ReferencesIbn al-’Arabi (after 1229/1980). Fusus

al-hikam (The Bezels of Wisdom), ed. A. Affifi, Cairo, 1946; trans. R.W.J. Austin, The Bezels of Wis-dom, New York: Paulist Press.

Allport, G. (1961). Pattern and Growth in Personality. New York: Holt, Rine-hart, & Winston.

Baumeister, R. F. (1991). “Why escape? - The burden of self.” In Escaping the self: Alcoholism, Spirituality, Mas-ochism, and Other Flights from the Burden of Selfhood. New York City: Basic.

Goldstein, K. (1934/1995). The Organ-ism: A Holistic Approach to Biology Derived from Pathological Data in Man. New York: Zone Books.

Holy Bible: New International Version. (1978). New York: American Bible Society.

Nursi, Said. (1952/2007). The Words: Reconstruction of Islamic Thought and Belief. New Jersey: The Light, Inc.

James, W. (1890). The Principles of Psy-chology. (2 vols.). New York: Henry Holt.

Maslow, A. H. (1943). “A Theory of Hu-man Motivation.” Psychological Re-view. 50, 370-396.

Sedikides, C., & Brewer, M. B. (2001). Individual Self, Relational Self, and Collective Self. Philadelphia: Psychol-ogy Press.

Ali Unal. (2006). The Qur’an with An-notated Interpretation in Modern English. New Jersey: The Light, Inc.

Wicklund, R. A., & Eckert, M. (1992). The Self-knower: A Hero under Con-trol. New York: Plenum.

Note1. The translator, Huseyin Akarsu,

used the concept of ego for “ene” in the original work. Because of the psy-choanalytic associations of the “ego,” “self” was preferred in the citation.

“Religions can offer

a sense of hope, because

more than anything,

I think we all need to imagine a

future that is sustain-

able.”

Mary Evelyn Tucker:

T here is one moral law that forms the corner stone of all of the world’s reli-gions: “Thou shall not kill.” But does this law apply only to human beings?

What about our involvement in the steady decline and death of our ecology and its many plants and animals all of which contribute to our complex and interdependent eco system that sustains human life. Are we not morally responsible to protect the lives of all of these living creatures and systems and even the Earth itself? Is there a correlation between our environmental crisis and spiritual cri-sis? Matter&Beyond discussed this correlation with Mary Evelyn Tucker who is a Senior Lecturer and Senior Scholar at Yale University where she has appointments in the School of Forestry and Envi-ronmental Studies as well as the Divinity School and the Department of Religious Studies. Tucker is

a co-founder and co-director with John Grim of the Fo-rum on Religion and Ecology. Together they organized a series of ten conferences on World Religions and Ecology at the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard Divinity School. They are series editors for the ten volumes from the conferences distributed by Harvard University Press.

ENVIRONMENT

Protecting of Life Forms Is a Moral Responsibility

Mustafa TabanliMaryLynn Schiavi



M&B: What is the ecosystem? And when you say that the ecosystem is in trouble what do you mean by that? An ecosystem describes the tremendous, intricate, complex relationship between all of the elements; literally the soil, water, air, and then the plant life and even the breathing of the plants. This includes the presence of insects pollinating, the soil being moved around by worms, and so on. Then you get into the mammalian life, and the bird life, which work within a complex system, and the parts of which we are only beginning to understand. We barely understand how migration patterns work; [e.g.] the sand-piper that migrates from South America to the James Bay region of Canada. This migration means that these birds are able to comprehend an ecosystem that stretch-es over thousands of miles. So ecosystems, we realize, have this microscopic dimension of complex elements; the flora and fauna interact with it. But at the same time, we can also see an ecosystem that is as large as the migra-tion patterns of animals and birds. Thus, we begin to see that the way in which we read and understand ecosystems is the key to understanding this complex community of life.

M&B: What are some of the problems faced by ecosystems today?The planet as a whole is facing a variety of environmental problems of immense proportions and complexity. We, as human beings, are only begin-ning to realize the full impact of our presence on the planet. The population has risen from 2 billion to 6 billion people in the last century; this population explosion, as well as the technological explosion, is grinding the earth into a pulp, destroying the forests and the life in the oceans …, with this enormous presence we could be compared to an octopus that has wrapped itself around the planet; in short, we have caused very serious environmental problems.

Right now, climate change is apparent to many, many people around the globe; this was not the case 10 years ago, nor even 5 years ago. We are pro-foundly changing the air and the atmosphere. This change is reflected in the ecosystems in shifting migration patterns, in fluctuating agricultural patterns, and in changes in the life of the seas. Therefore, there is one huge macro-scale problem that right now has an enormous presence, and we are aware that hu-man beings are the primary cause; this was stated at the international panel on climate change in its report of January 2007.

M&B: You speak about visible problems, but aren’t there any deeper problems?.20,000 to 30,000 species are becoming extinct every year around the globe. This era has been called an extinction period, and it is the sixth extinction period. Probably the last extinction period was after a meteor hit the earth, 65 million years ago; this ended the era of dinosaurs. And now we are the cause of a new extinction, because we are reducing the habitats, we are creating the pollution problems, we are using chemicals that birds and insects cannot deal with. Rachel Carson wrote about this in her book “Silent Spring” and alerted people to the decimation of birds and the ensuing silence because their songs could no longer be heard. This is a problem that we need to address, and we

THE EMPTINESS

OF MODERN

CONSUMER LIFE IS

JUST SUFFOCATING

THE HUMAN SOUL,

AND THE HUMAN

SPIRIT, THAT DOESN’T

KNOW WHERE

TO FIND ITSELF IN

MATERIALISM GONE

MAD.


need to understand what such a loss means; there is a sadness for the voices of the natural world that are disappearing from our midst.

We can also talk about a whole range of problems in bioregions, such as the pollution of the Great Lakes or invasive species that are occurring in them and elsewhere. We can also speak about the loss of tropical forests in Thailand, for example. Even 30 or 40 years ago, 75% of Thailand was forested. Now the area is only 15%. Clear cutting is still happening in our own western forests. But we also have clear cutting in the oceans. Huge nets, some of them measur-ing 20 to 30 miles long in the Pacific and the Atlantic, sweep up not only fish, but all kinds of life, such as turtles, dolphins and life forms from the coral reefs. We must have not only a land ethic to preserve our resources, to preserve our water, and our air and our soil, we also need an ocean ethic, an ethic for the great waters. These two kinds of ethics need to emerge in the human commu-nity if the entire community is to survive into the future.

M&B: In your opinion, what are the underlying human problems that are the root cause for this environmental destruction?Human beings have not realized how completely we are in nature. We go to the super market and we buy meat wrapped up in plastic, sitting on Styrofoam, or we buy apples that are out of season or peaches and oranges that are imported from elsewhere. We have lost our sense of connection to food, where it comes from, to all of these complex bioregions that support the life, of food and of agriculture. That’s just one example. But I think we have profoundly alienated ourselves by thinking we can dominate, we can control nature, or even that we can manage it. Sometimes we think we can manage forests or fisheries, and yet we still don’t understand how intricate and complex these systems really are. Earlier peoples had very primitive instruments, not huge machines that can go in and decimate a forest in a day. So, our technology has grown beyond our ability to set limits. We simply don’t know limits.

I think another factor here is that the growth mentality the economic driver, even of our capitalist system and our neoliberal economics says, economic growth is good. In growth we trust, so to speak. And this fetish with growth, this preoccupation that if we don’t grow our economy is going to falter, has set us on a course that is destroying communities, it is creat-ing endless consumerism, is creating all kinds of alienation, sadness, even addictions of all kinds because the emptiness of modern consumer life is just suffocating the human soul, and the human spirit, that doesn’t know where to find itself in materialism gone mad.

M&B: When I look at the indigenous people in any tradition, these people had much more respect for food.It is true that indigenous peoples had, and in many parts of the world continue to have, a profound sense of the interconnection in life systems that the human needs to carry out life. I don’t want to over idealize the in-digenous peoples by any means, rather only in the sense that they are in a reciprocal relationship, that when hunting there was gratitude for the life of the animal taken, or when a bird was killed, there was a reciprocal sense of thanksgiving, of prayer, as part of their culture. Even in agricultural indig-

HUMAN BEINGS HAVE

NOT REALIZED HOW

COMPLETELY WE

ARE IN NATURE. WE

GO TO THE SUPER

MARKET AND WE BUY

MEAT WRAPPED UP

IN PLASTIC, SITTING

ON STYROFOAM,

OR WE BUY APPLES

THAT ARE OUT OF

SEASON OR PEACHES

AND ORANGES THAT

ARE IMPORTED FROM

ELSEWHERE.


enous peoples, for example, with the growing of corn for the Hopi, there is a sense that you sing for the corn to grow.

M&B: Although the root cause of the problem still con-tinues, there are certain things that we should be doing. Such as endangered species protection programs etc.I think there is a growing sense in human beings that we have a new responsibility for the future of the planet, for other species and ecosystems. We know that many animals will only be preserved in zoos, or in nature pre-serves. If we’re talking about the right to life, the right to habitat, the right to be part of a larger community, are we the ones who are to determine this? And what does that mean? This is an extension of our ethical, moral sensibil-ity to the larger community of life, with which we share this planet. So there is an immense sense of responsibil-ity for this period when other life forms are undergoing extinction. And if this is not fundamentally a religious issue, I don’t know what is.

M&B: What is the reaction of the younger generation? You are also a professor who teaches at Yale and you’ve been to other universities as well. Can you tell us about your experiences?There were two students as Bucknell University where I was teaching, and they exemplified, I think, what we’re all going through. In a class on religion and ecol-ogy, we were talking about the loss of species and the sense of wide-spread extinction that is taking place in our own lifetime. And one student turned to the rest of the class and said: Why should I care if 20,000 species become extinct every year? I’m going to Wall Street, I’ll get my job I’ll have my family and life in the suburbs around New York. Why should I care? This question sent a ripple throughout the class, and many, who were biologists and ecologists, immediately responded by talking about the intricacy of ecosystems and the web of life and the interdependence of life systems. But even that didn’t sway this student, and it was almost as if he was thinking, I can get my food from the supermarket, I just don’t care. This, to me, was a huge wake-up call. So there is this sense on the one hand of indifference, of disconnection, and even of denial.

On the other hand, there was a student who read some essays by Thomas Berry, who has been an im-mense inspiration and teacher to both my husband, John Grimm, and myself. This student read them over the weekend, and was so overwhelmed by the size,

scale, and complexity of the environmental problems that we are facing, that he just had to close his door and couldn’t go out for the weekend; he didn’t want to see his friends. On Monday when he came back to talk to us, he said I am just paralyzed by these problems and I feel such immense despair.

We need to find a way forward between these two ex-tremes of despair on the one hand and denial on the oth-er. We need to find a way of empowering and inspiring scientifically grounded, ecologically sound, restoration projects that are in coordination with the ecosystems; we need to train people along these lines. But we need to ground them in a sense of wonder, hope, and possibility for a sustainable future; we need to teach them that their actions, that their lives, will matter, that they’re not just a speck in a meaningless universe, but rather that their actions and their life journey will contribute to a larger planetary civilization, which is emerging on the horizon; that is, a multi-form planetary civilization. That is the goal that we need to place in front of them.

M&B: So both science and religion can take on these issues?Both religion and science can help us with this, but there have also been problems with science and reli-gion. Science sometimes has objectified the natural world, creating a sense of distance with the scientific method that we use to study things, making them dis-tanced from us. And yet, science is also helping us to recover both great knowledge about the environmen-tal problems that we’re surrounded by, climate change and the extinction of species, as well as pollution is-sues. Scientists are studying these things and provid-ing us with information on a daily basis. And many of these scientists are deeply committed to what are being called sustainability sciences; to have this at colleges and universities, and to be able to think through prob-lems with a sense of creating solutions. So I think it’s an immensely inspiring moving, sustainable sense of well-being that is emerging from the sciences.

Religions hold a lot of promise for the area of ecol-ogy and sustainability, and even sustainable develop-ment. Religious people have been reluctant to get in-volved and they have been late in getting involved. Many religious people are often concerned with an other-worldly salvation, or with personal salvation, and not necessarily with involvement in the world, the environment, and issues of social justice. How-ever, I think that one of the most exciting and promis-


ing movements within the environmental field is that the religions are awakening to their eco-logical aspect, to their commitment to life, its aesthetic beauty, and the intrinsic value of other species; they are taking on a sense of commit-ment for the future generations of all species. This possibility, that religious communities will awaken to an increased ethical sensibility to people in other countries, to species in different countries around the globe, as well as to future generations, is vital. This is something that reli-gions can offer. Moreover, they can help to stim-ulate a critical component to our environmental and ecological sensibility, and that is a wonder; religions awaken us to a sense of gratitude and awe in the face of the great mystery of life. And that particular component of wonder, such as the wonder of the Monarch butterfly, the sense of beauty in these creatures, is something that reli-gions can reignite for us, just as science can. And this is where they join, I think. Science awakens our sense of wonder, religion confirms the wonder with the great mystery of life systems. And finally, I think that religions can offer a sense of hope, be-cause more than anything, I think we all need to imagine a future that is sustainable. We are inter-acting with the next generation who are dealing with their own sense of paralysis, with a lack of hope, even despair. And we need to acknowledge that this is a very critical moment for humans. We have never faced anything like this before; where is our sense of hope and the possibility for creat-ing a viable, sustainable, and flourishing future for the planet? I think the religious communities that have dealt with loss, sorrow, death, and despair can help to regenerate this sense of possibility, of sustainable hope for the next generation, and even for ourselves, as we deal with this daily onslaught of saddening bad news. More than anything, I think we need these two components of wonder and hope to make it into the future.

Interview conducted by Mustafa Tabanli and MaryLynn Schiavi for Ebru TV for the Emmy Award winning television series Matter and Be-yond. For more information and the full episodes visit http://www.ebru.tv/en/p.fullepisode.html


ISLES OF PEACEWe believe the mistakes of the past should be put imprisoned in the history books and hostile feelings should not be allowed to rise from the grave. Certain events in the past have resulted in other events, in a chain re-action and hostilities have given rise to new hostilities, pushing people away from one another and forming new fronts of conflict. It is meaningless to bring up such issues to-day or to make them the reason for any di-sagreement, allowing them to open up new rifts. We do not care what others say or do; we have to keep walking on this path of un-derstanding and respect. Notwithstanding the hatred, grudge, and antagonism that may spring up from place to place, we should seek the “islands of peace” … and we should establish “isles of peace.” ***

If education is an act of “renewal” in beliefs, ideas, hopes, happiness, misery, and prac-tices,1 a renewal that contributes towards

the enhancement and betterment of an individual’s thoughts, feelings, and actions, then an educator is the one who breaths the excitement of the “renewal” into the souls and helps the individuals to fulfill their potential in order to attain the degree of insan-i kamil, a perfect human being. Since edu-cation is a continuous process which evolves within the trian-gle of family, society, and school, then the place of an educator in this context is extremely critical, as the teacher is considered to be sitting in the center of this triangle.

As educators have such an important position in soci-ety, it is vital to reflect upon the questions of how a teacher should conduct their teaching and what kind of a personality a teacher should develop in order to fulfill their mission as an educator. Although it is hard to provide satisfactory answers to such deep questions within the scope of a short essay, a couple of points might be worth mentioning.

First of all, an educator should have the dignity of bearing knowledge. They should be aware of the fact that if knowl-edge is the spirit, a set of actions is the body that carries that spirit. If a teacher is not setting an example for their students with their actions, then the knowledge will lose its meaning

TEACHING IS ALSO LEARNING. A TEACHER LEARNS FROM THEIR

STUDENTS HOW TO BECOME A BETTER EDUCATOR. A GOOD

TEACHER SHOULD BE ABLE TO LISTEN TO THE SILENT WORDS

THAT POUR FROM THEIR STUDENTS’ TONGUES OF DISPOSITION.

EDUCATION


Yasin Ceran


in the eyes of the students. As most would agree, the greatest teachers in the humanity appeared among the prophets. Prophets, with all their wisdom and deep knowledge about both the physical and the meta-physical world, first established their reputation in society with their outstanding moral values, and by demonstrating the best examples of human character and behavior. Presenting the values in conduct (tamsil) always comes before teach-ing the values (tabligh). Changing this order would result in ineffec-tive teaching and inner hypocrisy for one who tries to teach.

A teacher should look at the universe from multiple angles. They should not confine themselves within the walls of the school or within the limits of the syllabus. They should teach their correspondents how to see a view in its multidimensionality and how to turn any input of data into in-formation and thus into knowledge. An educator should not be a trans-mitter of information before check-ing whether the “receivers” are ready to detect and absorb the information. One who teaches should never forget that “the purpose of learning is to make knowledge a guide for your life, to illuminate the road to human per-fection. Any knowledge that does not fulfill these functions is a burden for the learner and any science that does not direct one toward sublime goals is only deception.”2

As Bertrand Russell stated, “The good individual is he who ministers to the good of the whole, and the good of the whole is a pattern made up of the goods of the individuals.”3

A teacher should build bridges be-tween each person and society by using the school environment as a construction site, and mobilize the unique potential embedded in hu-man personalities for the use of so-

ciety, and more generally, humanity. Nobody should be treated as insig-nificant and as a result no capabili-ties of the students will be wasted. The greatest and most dangerous waste is the waste of human capital. A teacher knows that every human being is actually a miniature uni-verse and that each one of their ap-prentices is as valuable as the heav-ens.4 The emotional, spiritual, and physical aspects of human nature offer such a wide spectrum of col-ors that the ideal teacher will enable their students to discover their own colors within this spectrum.

Teachers are the architectures of character. A teacher is expected to see every student as a possible masterpiece and to construct that masterpiece ac-cording to a carefully designed, indi-vidual and specific plan. This is not an easy task. No one person can fit into all the dresses in this shop. The teacher has to make their students think that they are special, that they are cared for, and that the teacher is tearing down the walls of limitations with bare hands to make room for them. Even though the teacher may not be able to make the difference that they intend to, their actions and then their intentions, which carry on after their actions are exhausted, will send the message to the students. This is what it means to make a dif-ference in the lives of one’s students. The human body develops from one fertilized egg; the human spirit and character is far more advanced than the body, turning small seeds into gi-ant fruit bearing trees.

Educators are advocates on be-half of their students, defending their weaknesses in learning, and looking for different approaches to overcome the obstacles between the knowledge and the student. Teachers can only prosecute them-selves. They see their students’

failures as their own failures and never indulge in the luxury of self-forgiveness. Like poets who treat their verses like their children, yet always try to replace them with bet-ter ones, teachers ask themselves if their students could be any better than they are in terms of what they have learnt from them.

Teaching is also learning. A teacher learns from their students how to become a better educator. A good teacher should be able to listen to the silent words that pour from their students’ tongues of dis-position. Students may not talk to the teacher directly, but their looks, facial expressions, their interactions with their teacher, their voice levels and tones, all reflect a teacher’s abil-ity to instruct. Educators who do not carefully observe these signs are like those who close their eyes dur-ing the bright daylight and wonder why they cannot see.

If a teacher considers teaching to be a simple matter and is never aware of the burden of making an impact on others, then one must wonder about the dedication of this teacher. A teacher must be willing to take this road while also being aware of the long distances, deep valleys and oceans of hardships ahead. As Rumi stated, in the end, a teacher should be ready to say “I was raw; I was cooked; now I am burned.”

Yasin Ceran is a math teacher in Dallas, Texas.

Notes1. John Dewey, Democracy and Edu-

cation: An Introduction to the Phi-losophy of Education, Digireads.com Publishing, Stilwell,KS, 2005, p. 4.

2. Fethullah Gülen, Pearls of Wisdom, Fairfax: The Fountain, 2000, Vol-ume 1, p. 43.

3. Bertrand Russell, Education and the Social Order, Routledge, 2002, p. 9.

4. Said Nursi. The Words, Twenty-Third Word, NJ: The Light, Inc. 2005.

I n numerous verses the Holy Qur’an makes reference to living organisms, and particularly to human physiology. The Qur’an does this in its own style, briefly mentioning some fundamen-

tal principles of the process or the phenomenon that it is referring to, without going into elaborate details. One of the verses that immediately

captures the attention of the reader is the twenty-seventh verse of Chapter 47, Surah Muhammad, which can be translated

as: “So, how (will it be) when the angels take their souls at death, striking their faces and their

backs?” while describing the agony of death that the disbelievers will suffer. In Surah Al-Anfal

(8:50), the Qur’an tells us: “… He causes those who are bent on denying the truth to die: the angels

will strike their faces: and their backs…” The phrase “striking their faces and their backs” leaves us won-

dering why “faces and backs?” What is special about

these body parts in the con-text of death?

The Qur’an is the word of the

All-Wise and it is not possible for it to be com-

pletely deciphered by human reasoning. Yet, it is our duty as hu-

man beings to contemplate the mes-sage that our Creator has revealed for us. The moment of death is spoken of in many other Qur’anic verses and Ha-diths. The experience of death is a great agony for the disbelievers: The (angels who) snatch (the souls of the disbe-lievers) forcibly. And those who gen-tly take (the souls of the believers) joyfully (Qur’an, 79:1-2).

Undoubtedly, the experience of death is painful. Leaving the discussion about “faces and backs” to later in this article,

BIOLOGY


Mesut Sahin

let us first look at what pain is from a physiological aspect. It is common knowledge that the sensation of pain is conducted to the brain via the sensory nerves which connect with almost every single part of the body, particularly to the skin. The skin has different corpuscles (sensory cells) for the sensation of touch, temperature, and pain. When a nociceptive (pain inducing) stimulus is applied to the skin, this information is con-veyed through the peripheral nerves in the form of small electric pulses (called action potentials), first to the spinal cord, next through the spino-thalamic pathways, and then to the higher centers of perception in the brain. These little electrical pulses are felt as pain, temperature, or touch in various centers of the brain (e.g. somatosensory cortex), depending on where the signals originate in the skin. If a particular area is wired to a pain sensing corpuscle in the skin, the brain circuitry will be trained to perceive this signal as pain from early postnatal development. If, on the other hand, a particular nerve is connected to a temperature sensing corpuscle in the body, the part of the brain center that it is connected to will be trained to perceive this as temperature from early on in life. So, the perception of sensory information depends on how these little electrical signals are interpreted by the brain. However, the connection map of the nerves and the circuits that interpret them in the brain form very early in life and these connections are hard wired, that is, it is very difficult to change them.

Pain may be perceived without a real source of nociceptive input as a result of some neurological disorders. For instance, in an amputee, after a limb has been surgically removed, the cut ends of the sensory


PAIN MAY BE

PERCEIVED WITHOUT

A REAL SOURCE OF

NOCICEPTIVE INPUT

AS A RESULT OF SOME

NEUROLOGICAL

DISORDERS. IN

AN AMPUTEE,

AFTER A LIMB HAS

BEEN SURGICALLY

REMOVED, THE

CUT ENDS OF THE

SENSORY NERVES

MAY GENERATE LITTLE

ELECTRICAL PULSES

ON THEIR OWN

WITHOUT A PAIN

INDUCING STIMULUS.

nerves may generate little electrical pulses (action potentials) on their own without a pain inducing stimulus. The subject might feel an intense feeling of pain in the missing limb! This is clinically known as “phantom pain.” The phenomenon known as “referred pain” has an interesting explanation, also based on neuro-anatomy. The pain conducting sensory nerves from various dermatomes (areas of skin) and some other nerve fibers that originate in the visceral (internal) organs of the body enter the spinal cord side by side as a bundle (spinal roots). When some of these visceral organs, such as the heart and lungs, contract a disease, the sensory signals generated by these organs are not perceived as pain because there are no pain sensing nerve endings in these organs. But, the sensory signals generated by these organs activate the pain sensing fibers at the point where they enter the spinal cord together. The pain therefore is felt by the brain as if it were originating in a certain derma-tome. For instance, heart problems are felt as a pain in the left arm. Again, the interesting point is that the perception of pain depends very much on the wiring of the nervous system at the periphery and in the brain.

Needless to say, if the subject is deep asleep or unconscious for any rea-son, he or she would not feel pain because the brain has been entirely blocked from any sensory input. In the context of body-mind connection, we may consider these states where the soul has minimal connectivity to the brain.

What about the moment of death? According to Qur’anic verses the ex-perience of death is different for believers and unbelievers. Is it possible that the intensity of pain that one experiences at the moment of death is related to whether or not the soul is still “connected” to the brain? Those who die in their sleep do not seem to show any signs of pain, at least not to those who are witnessing the event. We should note that Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, stated that sleep shares many common properties with death.

It is reported that whenever God’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) went to bed, he said: “O God, it is with Your Name that I live and it is with Your Name that I die.” And when he got up he used to say: “Praise is due to God, Who gave us life after our death (sleep) and unto Him is resurrection” (Muslim, 35:6549).

Qur’an 6:60 says:

“He is the One who puts you to death during the night, and knows even the smallest of your actions during the day. He resurrects you every morn-ing, until your life span is fulfilled; then to Him is your ultimate return. He will then inform you of everything you had done.”

Is it then plausible that the intensity of pain felt during death is a con-sequence of how connected the soul is to the body at that moment? These questions may or may not have been addressed by religious scholars in the past. However, information about the physiological events taking place dur-ing death is certainly very limited in the religious literature.

Let us take a quick look at the human nervous system, and perhaps this will shed some light on the verses we quoted at the beginning of the article. The peripheral nerves converge together and form bundles, called spinal roots,


before they enter the spinal cord at one of the 33 different vertebral seg-ments along its length. The brain and the spinal cord together consti-tute the central nervous system (as opposed to the peripheral nervous system). The only other neural pathways between the brain and the body are the cranial nerves, the nerves that enter the brain from un-derneath. There are twelve cranial nerves, most of which carry sensory information from the head or mo-tor information to the head, with the exception of the vagus nerve (Xth nerve), which actually serves the visceral organs. So, it would be accurate to say that the sensory in-formation that comes to the central nervous system enters either at the back (through the spinal cord) of a person or directly from the facial

area. The phrase “their faces and backs” thus sums up all the neural pathways through which the sensa-tion of pain can be conveyed to the brain, the interface where the body meets with the mind, or the soul.

It is possible that at the time of death, the pain receptors in the skin and deeper parts of the body start generating action potentials at a faster rate, as if great pain has been inflicted on these body parts. The ionic concentrations in the ex-tracellular medium around the sen-sory cells can change as a result of diminishing blood supply, and this is probably felt more severely in the extremities at first. The increased rate of firing of action potentials is commonly observed in neurosci-ence experiments when a cell starts “dying” as a result of perturbations

to the extracellular or intracellular ionic concentrations. A train of ac-tion potentials with an increasing rate of firing is frequently observed and eventually the action potentials stop completely when the cell can no longer function. A similar phe-nomenon may occur during the death of an entire living organism due to a reduction in the blood supply that is provided to the body parts as well as due to changes in the pH level from a lack of oxygen. This fast rate of action potentials will be perceived by the brain in the same way as a strong source of pain, e.g. crushing or ripping apart of the body. The principle concept is very similar to what happens in the case of “phantom pain.”

The choice of the word daraba (striking or smiting) in Verse 47:27 is also interesting to note. We de-scribe a pain sometime as “throb-bing,” because every time the heart beats the increased blood volume in the area makes the pain recep-tors fire faster episodically. It may be that this pulsating pain sensa-tion is described as “striking,” using a figurative language in the Qur’an.

Of course, the fundamental question is whether the soul is still in the body and thus able to feel the agony at the time of death. Are the souls of believers taken by the an-gels before the agony of death starts so that they do not suffer through it? We have no evidence to answer this question one way or another. But, it is certainly within the power of God to make the soul feel the pain or to save a person from it.

Mesut Sahin, PhD, is Assoc. Prof. of Biomedical Eng. at New Jersey Institute of Technology.


Where do we come from, why are we here and where are we going to? These are three fundamen-tal questions that have preoccupied many civiliza-tions throughout history. Today more than ever we have become aware of the significance of these ques-tions. We continue our Matter&Beyond talks with Rev. Dr. Polkinghorne, a Fellow of the Royal Soci-

ety and the former President of Queens’ College, Cambridge. A life dedicated to exploring the relation-ship between science and religion resulted in being awarded

the prestigious Templeton Prize in 2002. With his ex-tensive background in both science and theology Rev. Dr. Polkinghorne provides us with valuable insights into cosmic processes, hu-man exploration and the afterlife.


RELIGION

“There’s a deep human intu-ition of hope that though

there is death, there is more than death.”

Polkinghorne

Mustafa Tabanli


M&B: Your life story is very interesting. You started your journey as a scien-tist. How did you become interested in science?As a young boy, I was very good at mathematics; for me it was a very excit-ing subject. So I went to study mathematics at Cambridge University. And during my undergraduate years, I became very interested in the fact that you can use mathematics to understand the physical world. So when it came time to do a PhD, I did it in theoretical physics, working, in fact, with a very distinguished theoretical physicist, AbdusSalam, who later won the Nobel Prize. That led to a 25-year career working in theoretical elementary particle physics; that is, using mathematics to try and understand the be-havior of the smallest bits of matter. It was a very enjoyable, interesting life.

M&B: You chose the study of elementary particles in physics; what was it that fascinated you?Elementary particle physics, obviously, is a very fundamental branch; it is the study of the constituents out of which the physical world is made. When I

entered the subject, it was at a very exciting stage. New experimental material

was appearing and the theorists were puzzled at what was being discovered at

first. During the 25 years I spent on the subject, we moved from thinking of

protons and neutrons as being the constituents of matter to recognizing that

they themselves were made up of yet smaller constituents, which are called

quarks and gluons; the latter are what make them stick together. It was a very

exciting and interesting time to be involved in the subject.

M&B: Why did you resign your position at Cambridge and leave physics?

I don’t think you get better as you get older in mathematically-based sub-

jects. It requires a certain flexibility of mind rather than a depth of experi-

ence. You probably don’t do your best work before you’re 25, but almost

certainly before you’re 45. I recognized that; I’ve seen it happen with senior

colleagues, and I had thought for a long time that I wouldn’t stay in theo-

retical physics all my life. I had done my bit for it and probably the time

had now come to do something else.

“Obviously on the scale of the universe, we are very tiny creatures, and we inhabit a

planet that is just a speck of dust, really in the great uni-

verse, but we are greater than all the stars because we know them and ourselves, and they

know nothing.”


M&B: Was there one particular event that triggered your transition from be-ing a professor at the university to being an Anglican priest?In no way did I leave physics because I was disillusioned with it. I enjoyed it and I still took a keen interest in it. My transition from being a profes-sor to a priest was partly conditioned by the fact that I’d reached that stage in my life where I felt I’d done my bit for physics. Also, the subject was changing. The quantum theory had become very established, the dust had settled, so to speak, on what we call the standard model. Physics was chang-ing its character. String theory was appearing and everything was becom-ing much more speculative, using a different sort of mathematics; I didn’t know this so well, so it was quite a good time for a change.

That’s why I did it. There was no heavenly voice telling me, John, give up physics and do something else. It was just a natural transition to make. At least leaving physics was. Becoming an Anglican priest was a rather special choice for a further career, but that was influenced by the fact that Christian-ity had always been central to my life, and I wanted to serve the church.

M&B: If one were to compare scientific inquiry and religious thinking, what are the limits of scientific inquiry?Well, science is very successful, but its success is the result of the modesty of its ambition. It doesn’t try to ask and answer every question. Essentially, it asks how things happen. Science doesn’t concern itself with a question of why things are happening, whether there is a meaning, or purpose to what’s going on. It considers a limited range of experience and essentially treats the world as an object, as an “it,” something to be kicked around, pulled apart to find out what it’s made of, manipulated. And that gives sci-ence, of course, its secret weapon, which is the experimental method. If you don’t believe it, try it for yourself, you can do it again and again and again. We all know, of course, that there is a very wide range of human experience which is quite different from that in which you encounter reality; that is not as an “it,” if you like, not as an object, but as a person, or in the richest case, the transpersonal reality of God. And that regime, which is very central to human life and fulfillment, has to give way to trusting. There’s a different way of finding the truth. So while science is great, it doesn’t tell you the whole story. It needs to be supplemented by other forms of insight.

M&B: There is an understanding that science is based on testing and reli-gion is based on trusting. But do you think there is testing in religion too, and that there is trusting in science?To a degree that’s true. There is trust in science, in the sense that scientists commit themselves to a belief that the world is intelligible. They will be able to understand it. It may be difficult to find that understanding, there may be a lot of labor involved, but they believe that there is a story to be found and to be told. And we wouldn’t do science unless we had committed ourselves to the expectation that we will find an intelligible structure beneath it.

Equally, in religion, we don’t really have experiments. We can’t put the Lord, your God, through a test, but we do have experiences. We have our own realistic experience, and also we have the record and the foundational religious experiences that lie behind the traditions of different faiths. So

“In religion, we don’t really have experiments. We can’t

put the Lord, your God, through the test, but we do

have experience. We have our own realistic experience, and also we have the record and

the foundational religious experiences that lie behind the

different faith’s traditions.”


there is a motivated belief that aris-es from experience in religion and there is a commitment to a point of view in science. In that sense, the two are not completely different from each other. They have a cer-tain cousinly relationship to each other.

M&B: You obviously have had reli-gious experiences in your life. Could you give us some examples in order to better understand the difference between experience and experi-ment?I think religion has an experiential aspect. I wouldn’t say it has an ex-perimental aspect; an experiment is when you figure out what you think ought to happen and you induce the circumstances in which you think it’s going to happen; then you see whether it does or not. You can’t do that with God. But the outcome is going to be more open and much more flexible in its char-acter. Take a very simple example. Suppose somebody is gravely ill, and their community prays for that person. They’re praying for God to heal that person’s life. Now the word healing comes from the root hale which means wholeness. The people who are praying may be hoping that wholeness will find its expression in terms of some form of remarkable physical recovery. It may, but equally it may not. The wholeness may come; it may come in the form of that person being able to accept the imminent destiny of death in a peaceful and trust-ing way. So there’s a sort of range of possible outcomes. You can’t lay them down beforehand in the same way that you can in science, and that makes religious experience valid, true, supportive. We have ex-periences of worship, we feel the

presence of God in that sort of way; we have experiences of commitment. Looking back on our lives, I think we can often see what we believe to be the guiding hand of God leading us in a particular direction; I can see that myself, for example, in my change from being a physicists to being a priest. But I didn’t hear a heavenly voice telling me to do that at the time; it seemed more like my own exploration. Looking back, I see God’s hand in it as well. So there’s a richness and a sort of ambiguity, in a way, of religious experience. It makes religion a much more complex, and also, in a sense, a much more satisfying and fulfilling form of human activity.

M&B: Now that we have heard your story, let’s examine with the cosmic story. What are the scientific and religious perspectives behind the story of the universe?When we think about the history of the universe, we know that it started out very, very small. 13.7 billion years ago it was just an expanding ball of energy, about the simplest thing you could imagine. Now it’s become very rich and complicated; the home of saints and scientists. And that extraor-dinary story in itself might suggest that something has been going on in what’s been happening with the world. It has not just been one thing after another. There’s some sort of unfolding purpose that’s being fulfilled.

M&B: And human beings also play an important role in the cosmic story.I think one of the most astonishing things which has happened in the history of the universe that we know about is actually the coming to be of human life and human consciousness here on earth. Something really new emerged in the world with that, because we are able to be aware of ourselves, we are able to understand the world. In human nature, the universe, so to speak, became aware of itself. That was a new development. Obviously on the scale of the universe, we are very tiny creatures, and we inhabit a planet that is just a speck of dust in the great universe, but we are greater than all the stars because we know them and ourselves, and they know nothing. So, I do think there’s a particular value and a particular significance in human life. Scien-

“Science is great, but it doesn’t tell you the whole story. It needs supplementation by other forms of insight.”


tific ability is part of that; our reli-gious ability, I think, to encounter the reality of God reflects another unique aspect of human nature. So, as small as we are, I think we are a very significant part of what’s going on in the world. Science tells us that story, but I think religion interprets the same story and says, yes indeed, there is something going on. There is a purpose behind the universe. It’s the purpose of the Creator, and it’s not an accident that human be-ings who are aware of God have emerged; indeed, it was God’s pur-pose to bring that about.

M&B: That brings us to life after death, to questions about our pur-pose. As a physicist, what does the cosmic story tell you?Every story that science can tell ends, eventually, in totality, tran-sience and decay. As far as human life is concerned, obviously, we’re all going to die. It’s even true of the universe itself, although on much greater time scales. Not tomorrow, not for billions and billions of years, but eventually the universe it-self is going to end in futility, most likely by becoming progressively colder and colder, more and more dilute. Carbon-based life, wherever it is in the universe, will eventually prove to be just a transient episode in history. That’s all that science can say. It’s the third law of thermo-dynamics; in the end, chaos always wins over order.

M&B: But there are also conserva-tion laws in science. Do you think conservation laws offer some kind of hope scientifically?Science certainly knows that some things don’t get lost, the conserva-tion of energy for example. Energy is conserved yes, but what thermo-

dynamics tells us is that energy be-comes less and less useful. It trans-forms into heat and things like that which can’t be used to do footwork or create further forms of order. So that says the universe does run down. Of course, there are bits of the universe that swim against the tide, so to speak; but the emergence of humans, conscious beings, is dif-ferent from that. But we are going to get caught up in that eventual decay in the end. So I think within what science can say, although there is no conservation of real fulfillment, in the end it is condemned to futil-ity.

You might think, what’s the point of it? It’s going to end in that sort of way. But of course, the sci-entific story is not the only story to tell. There’s a religious story, so to speak; a vertical story to compli-ment the horizontal story of sci-ence. And the religious story is that God is faithful and God will not al-low things of value to simply disap-pear. And I believe that there is for human beings, both individually, and for the universe as a whole, a destiny beyond our deaths. This is not a story that science can tell, because it depends entirely on the faithfulness of God. But I believe God is faithful, and so I believe that human beings will have a destiny beyond their death, and that our destiny will be linked with the desti-ny of the universe; the whole of cre-ation matters to its Creator. That’s a big, big story, a story of hope and of fulfillment; science poses the question of eventual futility, but only religion, I think, can provide a satisfying answer to it.

The big issue is, is the universe truly a cast off? Does it truly make sense? It makes a lot of sense now.

Science explores that and the won-derful order of the world. But does it everlastingly make sense, or in the end does it signify nothing? I think to a religious point of view it is a cos-mos and not a chaos. But it is my religious belief that tells me this, not my scientific understanding.

M&B: As limited as we are, we can somehow strangely relate to that concept of everlasting life. What is the role of human conscious in tran-scending itself?Human life is very rich and com-plex. It operates at a great many levels. There are all sorts of human intuitions, some of which we are not really consciously aware of, but which are a very important part of our humanity. Here’s one way of thinking about it. Suppose a child wakes up in the middle of the night frightened by some dream it has had. The parent goes to comfort the child. What the parent says to the child is: it’s all right. Now stop for a minute and think what that might mean. Is that parent really telling a lie to the child? We live in a world of cancer and concentra-tion camps; we live in a world in which we know we’re all going to die. Is it really all right? On the face of it, you might think the answer is no, but nevertheless, there’s a deep intuition that in the end, all will be well. There’s a deep human intu-ition of hope that although there is death, there is more than death.

Interview conducted by Mustafa Tabanli for Ebru TV for the Emmy Award winning television series Matter and Beyond. For more infor-mation and the full episodes visit http://www.ebru.tv/en/p.fullepi-sode.html


BELIEF

P eople of truth have interpreted straightforwardness as avoiding all deviation and extremes, and as following in the footsteps of the Prophets, the faithful, the witnesses (of truth), and the righteous (in belief) in their religious deeds and daily lives. The verse: Those

who declare: “Our Lord is God,” and afterwards are straightforward, the angels descend upon them (saying): “Fear not nor grieve, and good tidings to you of Paradise which you were promised” (41:30) informs us that an-gels will receive in the Hereafter those who acknowledged God’s Lordship, affirmed His Unity, and followed the Prophets in their beliefs, deeds, and daily lives. Such a blameless life will cause these people to receive the good tidings of Paradise at a time when all people will tremble with fear and worry on the Day of Judgment.

An individual’s conduct becomes straightforward by performing reli-gious duties; one’s ego (inner self) becomes straightforward by following the Divine law’s truth; one’s spirit becomes straightforward by acting in accordance with knowing God; and one’s innermost senses or faculties becomes straightforward by complying with the Divine law’s spirit. The dif-ficulty of being straightforward in all of these levels caused the Prophet, the most straightforward of people, upon him be peace and blessings, to say: Sura Hud and others similar to it have made me old,1 thereby referring to the Divine command: Be straightforward as you are commanded, which is in sura Hud (11:112).

The Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, never deviated from the Straight Path, and was always straightforward in his deeds, words, and feelings. He guided Companions who sought salvation and eternal happi-ness to straightforwardness by saying: Declare: “I have believed in God,” and then be straightforward, a saying that concisely sums up all essential elements of belief and conduct.

If people claim progress on the path to the Truth but are not straightfor-ward in their state and conduct, all efforts will be in vain, and they will have to account in the Hereafter for the time spent without straightforwardness.

2

To reach the intended destination, an initiate must be straightforward at

ISTIQAMA (STRAIGHTFORWARDNESS)

A SERVANT SHOULD SEEK STRAIGHTFORWARDNESS,

NOT WONDERWORKING OR THE POWER OF

SPIRITUAL UNVEILING OR DISCOVERY. GOD DEMANDS

STRAIGHTFORWARDNESS; HOWEVER, A SERVANT

DESIRES EXTRAORDINARY SPIRITUAL ABILITIES.

M. Fethullah Gülen


the beginning, maintain it throughout the journey, and be straightforward at the end of the path, as gratitude for being rewarded with knowledge of God. Being alert to possible deviation at the beginning, engaging in self-supervision during the journey, being closed to wrong thoughts and actions, and considering only God’s plea-sure and approval at the end are significant signs of this state:

I know one among the people of straightforwardness:He was the most distinct in the realm of guidance.He sold his soul to the lights of (Divine) Identity,3

And died purified of all the dirt of human nature.

A servant should seek straightforwardness, not wonderworking or the power of spiritual unveiling or discovery. God demands straightforwardness; however, a servant desires extraordinary spiritual abilities. When they told Bayazid al-Bistami about a man who walked on water and flew in the air, he said:

Fish and frogs also float on water, and insects and birds fly in the air. If you see a man float on his rug on water without sinking and sit cross-legged in the air, do not show any interest in him. Rather, consider whether he is straightforward in his state and conduct, and whether they are in accordance with the Sunna (the way of the Prophet, upon him be peace and bless-ings).4

What Bayazid advises is that a believer be straight-forward and completely humble as a servant, not one flying in the atmosphere of wonders.

Straightforwardness is the last step on a three step stairway leading to nearness of God. The first step is consistency, where a traveler strives to embody Islam’s theoretical and practical dimensions. Success in this continuous effort brings one’s carnal self under con-trol. The second step is settlement or tranquility, where an initiate purifies his or her inner self of the vices contaminating the spirit and heart (e.g., show, fame, and vanity, all of which cannot be reconciled with ser-vanthood), thereby purging the heart of all that is not God. The third step is straightforwardness, where the doors of Divinity and creation are slightly opened to the

traveler, and the Divine gifts are bestowed in the form of wonderworking and blessings, although he or she neither desires nor seeks them.

Straightforwardness, the last station of the way, means living without deviation from loyalty to God and under His direct protection; it is an environment in which Divine gifts and favors are bestowed. Flowers never fade away and hills and slopes do not experience winter, for it is an environment of eternal “spring.” This is what is pointed out in: If only they were straightfor-ward on the path, then, assuredly We would give them to drink of “water” in abundance (72:16). So long as people pursue straightforwardness on the path of belief in Divine Unity and fulfill their covenants with God and His Messenger by fulfilling the Divine ordinances, Divine gifts and bounties will flow abundantly.

Our master, upon him be peace and blessings, de-clares: So long as the heart of a servant is not sound and straight, his belief cannot be true and upright; so long as his tongue is not true, his heart cannot be sound and straight.5 He also declares: Every morning, the parts of a man’s body warn his tongue, saying: “Fear God concerning us. For if you are true, we will be true and straight; if you are crooked, we will also deviate.”6

Finally, let us hear from As’ad Mukhlis Pasha a very significant warning:

Straightforwardness requires always being true and steadfast;

Fix one of your legs in the center, and let “the free arm of the compass” [your other leg] travel around.7 Notes1. Al-Tirmidhi, “Tafsir al-Qur’an,” 57.2. Muslim, “Iman,” 62; Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, 3:413.3. In other words, he submitted himself wholly and without

reserve to God.4. Al-Qushayri, Al-Risala, 397; Ahmad ibn ‘Abd Allah Abu

Nu’aym, Hilyat al-Awliya’ wa Tabaqat al-Asfiya’, 10 vols. (Beirut, 1967), 10:40.

5. Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, 3:198.6. Al-Tirmidhi, “Zuhd,” 61; Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, 3:96.7. In other words, one is to be well-grounded in Islam and to

keep the company of those who can provide proper guid-ance.

When we draw even a simple line using a computer program, we usually ignore what our computer actually does in the background. It converts videos, images or texts into bits, the

smallest building blocks of information, before doing any manipulation. In other words, a digital computer is unable to process this information, unless it is read in its own language, which is represented by two symbols only, the 0 and 1 bits. For example, the character “a” translates into this binary language as the “01100001” bit string. Why such a simple alphabet? Because, this is very convenient from the electronic aspect of your com-puter. These bits can be simply represented for example, as an electrical level on the circuitry in most computing devices, and best of all they can be programmed to accomplish certain computational tasks.

How about quantum computers? Quantum computers make use of a quantum mechanical phenomenon, so-called quantum superposition (be-ing in different states simultaneously). Classically, voltage across a circuit element can be either positive or negative when measured by a voltmeter, but not simultaneously negative and positive. Could it somehow be pos-sible to be in both states simultaneously?Quantum superpositionFor electrical circuits, the answer is obviously no. In microscopic scales of single atoms, or photons (i.e., single quantized packets that constitutes the light beam), however, the answer is yes. Consider an optical component, for instance, that splits an incoming light beam into two beams of equal intensity. In optics, such a device is called a 50/50-beam splitter. You can ask what happens when a single photon is sent to such a beam splitter. Since a single photon cannot be split in this simple experiment, you might expect that it would either be transmitted or reflected with equal probability ½. Experiments, however, show that this is not actually true in the single

TECHNOLOGY

QUANTUM

SUPERPOSITION PRINCIPLE

REFLECTS THE GREAT

WISDOM AND POWER

OF THE OMNIPOTENT.

SIMILAR TO THE SINGLE

PHOTON EXAMPLE ABOVE,

WITH THIS PRINCIPLE,

GOD GIVES THE

UNDERLYING PARTICLES

OF THE UNIVERSE AN

IMMENSE POWER TO

ACHIEVE MANY TASKS

SIMULTANEOUSLY.

36MARCH / APRIL 2010

Omer D. Ikramoglu


photon level. The single photon is indeed simultaneously reflected and transmitted.

Once microscopic quantum superposition is brought into our macroscopic world, we can imagine many interesting phenomena. Si-multaneously occupying many differ-ent places and being like dead and alive at the same time are only two of them. Of course such technology, es-pecially applied to humans is highly science fiction, given current experi-mental and theoretical challenges. Nevertheless, quantum superposi-tion has a strikingly interesting simi-larity with the spiritual states already achievable by saints, such that they can be available in more than one place at a given time or become dead and alive, in the sense that they live both in the future and in the past.

It is not known exactly why quantum superposition exists, but what we know is that it is a neces-sary ingredient for our complex uni-verse to perform its vital functions in a finite amount of time. Quan-tum superposition principle reflects the great wisdom and power of the Omnipotent. Similar to the single photon example above, with this principle, God gives the underlying particles of the universe an immense power to achieve many tasks simul-taneously. Otherwise, regarding the finite age of the universe (about 15 billion years), our physical uni-verse and the events taking place all around us would not come into exis-tence. The Quantum superposition principle has also inspired research-ers to build unprecedentedly fast computers to solve the problems that are intractable with any classical computing method. In this article, we introduce this new strategy to computing.

Quantum computing with su-perpositionHaving provided some background about the quantum superposition, we ask the question “How could we exploit quantum superposition for fast computing?” Below we will give a glimpse of that power. Con-sider a three-bit register. It can only store one out of eight numbers in the set, {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7}, in a given moment of time. For example, number 5 is stored in a three-bit register as “101.” Now suppose that these three bits are replaced by their quantum cousins, so-called qubits (short for quantum bit). You can imagine, for example, a quantum register consisting of three rubidium (Rb) atoms. These individual atoms can be prepared in the 0 and 1 logical states simulta-neously by shining a laser beam for a certain amount of time. Then it is possible for three atoms combined to be prepared in a superposition of eight numbers, which is impos-sible classically. In other words all those eight guys physically exist in the same room, although it doesn’t allow more than one guy to fit clas-sically. If we want to make opera-

tions on all of these numbers, we don’t need to perform serially; in-stead, we can achieve that in only one computational step on a single hardware. Thus, quantum super-position leads to a massive paral-lelism, which renders the compu-tational complexity (i.e., a measure of how efficiently a given problem could be solved) highly reduced for various difficult problems in com-puter science.

For example, let’s consider RSA, a well-known algorithm (i.e., a set of instructions to solve a problem on a computer) for secure communi-cation that was invented by Rivest, Shamir, and Adelman, hence the name, in 1977 at MIT. It is widely used in electronic commerce proto-cols. The details of RSA are out of scope in this article (See the FAQ section of the RSA Laboratories’ web site in Ref. [1] for a brief in-troduction to RSA). Here, we only want to mention its vulnerability to quantum computers if they were to exist. The security of the RSA cryp-tosystem relies on the difficulty of factoring large numbers, which is intractable with classical comput-ers. Factorization for small num-


bers, say 15, is quite simple. When the number of digits increase up to a few 100s, for example, enormous computational resource is required. RSA Laboratories publish the RSA challenge numbers (see Ref. [2] for the list of challenge numbers and the prize) on their web site to test the security of their algorithm at various key lengths. The largest integer, RSA-640, which has 193 decimal digits (640 bits), was factor-ized recently by F. Bahr, et al. The next challenge number in turn is RSA-704, and the prize is $30,000. Imagine factorizing a 1000-digit number. You would probably be a considerably rich person in just a few minutes, if you had a moderate quantum computer and the RSA Laboratories kept feeding you with new challenge numbers, because the factorization of such a large number with current computational resources takes forever, perhaps even more than the estimated age of the universe. Of course, the RSA Laboratories will not let you be very rich, by simply quitting posting new challenge numbers. They would be interested in your quantum comput-er, though.

How does the quantum com-puter crack the world’s most se-cure cryptosystems with little effort? One can construct new algorithms for quantum computers based on above described principle of super-position. These algorithms can take the outcome of previous calculations and input them as a superposition to the next stage of the instructions, which results in a highly efficient form of computing (please consult Ref [3] to have for a simple explana-tion of quantum superposition for fast computation). In 1994, Peter Shor from AT&T’s Bell Labs in

New Jersey just did that. He devel-oped the world’s first quantum al-gorithm, which efficiently performs factorization. In 1996, Lov Grover also at Bell Labs invented the un-structured database (i.e., a disor-dered list such as a list of city names not in alphabetical order) search algorithm for quantum computers, so-called Grover’s algorithm.

Suppose that there is a bas-ket with ten balls in it. You are now asked to find a specific one with your eyes closed, say red. It is known, however, beforehand that there is only one red ball in the basket. All you, or your smart digital friend, can do is just pick one randomly and see if it is red. If you are lucky enough, the first ball you pick might be red. In the worst case, however, you will be success-ful at your last choice. So, classically you have to repeat the process on average at half times the number of balls. If you made a quantum friend rather than classical, however, your life would be smoother. You would be able to find and manage your stuff easily, no matter how messy you are. Quantum computers speed up such unsorted database searches quadratically. You can find, say your favorite socks, in a number of trials that is about the square root of the total number of your stuff. You may think that you don’t have that much stuff. But consider identifying a spe-cific element in a considerably large pool of unsorted data. As the num-ber of elements in the set increases, it quickly becomes intractable to find what exactly you are looking for. In that case the significance of quadratic boost cannot be denied.

Motivated by the above men-tioned factorization and unsorted da-tabase search algorithms, the power of

quantum computing has inspired great attention, since their inven-tion, among many disciplines in-cluding physicists, computer sci-entists, mathematicians, engineers, and material scientists. Quantum computer todayDespite promising developments in theory, progress in the physical realization of quantum circuits, algorithms, and communication systems have been extremely chal-lenging to date. There are many approaches for quantum infor-mation processing. Major model physical systems include nuclear spins, ions, neutral atoms, solid state nanostructures, superconduc-tors, and optical circuits. In optics, for example, the qubit can be rep-resented by the polarization (i.e., direction of oscillation of electric field) state of a single photon. So that the instructions described by the algorithm could be implement-ed by manipulating the polarization states of single photons. Unfortu-nately, all the models for quantum computing have their own draw-backs besides their advantages.

Given the trends, nobody knows whether or not a sufficiently scalable (i.e., large enough to harvest its po-tential power) quantum computer would be available in the decades to come. Nonetheless, D-Wave Sys-tems, Inc., The Quantum Comput-ing Company, was eager enough to unveil the “world’s first commercial-ly viable quantum computer” (see Figure 1, and Ref [4] for the story.). D-Waves’ 16-qubit quantum com-puter makes use of superconducting element niobium, which operates at an extremely low temperature. It can search for molecular structures that match a target molecule, create a complicated seating plan, and fill


in Sudoku puzzles. Although the device is very slow compared to an inexpensive PC, D-Wave intends to develop a 1000-qubit quantum com-puter.* The goal is to scale the quan-tum computer to about 10 thousand qubits to solve the most challenging problems outright, which are simply intractable with classical comput-ers. The researchers, however, are not very optimistic. Prof. Lloyd of Massachusetts of Institute of Tech-nology, a pioneering scientist in su-perconducting approach for quan-tum computing that underlies the D-Wave’s quantum computer, says “It’s too good to be true.”

In this article we only sketched the quantum superposition prin-ciple as an important ingredient for quantum computation. This is certainly not the whole story. “En-tanglement” [6], for example, is an-other complementary resource for quantum computing and communi-cations, as well as quantum mechan-ics to test its foundations.

Contrary to its classical counter-parts, the power of quantum com-puters indeed comes directly from our granted capability of tailoring and mimicking the amazing design hidden in the microscopic world of atoms, photons or other quan-tum particles. Quantum computers sooner or later will bring the most science-fiction into reality. They will play a significant role especially in the development of ultra-intelli-gent machines and robots superior to classical ones, and communica-tion systems whose ultimate secu-rity is guarantied by the nature’s architecture which was lay down by God. Quantum computers will re-veal to us the deepest secrets of our Creator embedded in our universe, which cannot be explored using conventional computers. That day, the future will only be lacked by our limited imagination.

AcknowledgmentThis article was produced in MER-GEOUS [7], an online article and project development service for au-thors and publishers dedicated to the advancement of technologies in the merging realm of science and religion.

Omer D. Ikramoglu is a freelance writer in optics and quantum physics.

References1. RSA Laboratories, http://www.rsa.

com/rsalabs/2. RSA Challenge Numbers, http://

w w w . r s a . c o m / r s a l a b s / n o d e .asp?id=2093

3. A short introduction to quantum computation by A. Barenco, A.Ekert, A. Sanpera and C.Machiavello from La Recherche, November 1996. http://cam.qubit.org/articles/in-tros/comp.php

4. J. R. Minkel, “First “Commercial” Quantum Computer Solves Sudoku Puzzles”, Scientific American, Feb 13 (2007).

5. UNIVAC I, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNIVAC_I

6. S. Candaroglu, “Quantum Entangle-ment: Illusion or Reality?” Fountain, Issue 61 (January-February 2008).

7. http://www.mergeous.com/ *At the time of writing D-Wave Sys-

tems had only 16-qubit quantum chip and they were intending to develop a 1000-qubit quantum computer by the end of 2008. Although they couldn’t meet their goal, they now have a de-sign of a 128-qubit most powerful ever quantum chip which awaits the tests (see http://www.dwavesys.com for up to date information).

Figure 1 D-Wave Systems, a Canadian company for quantum computing, built the world’s first commercially viable quantum

computing device made of the superconduct-ing element niobium [4]. © J. CHUNG/D-

WAVE SYSTEMS, INC.

Figure 2 UNI-VAC I Central Complex which contains the central proces-sor and main memory unit [5].

Once quantum computers of reasonable power are built, the world will be unimaginably exciting and perhaps scary too. When the first commercial computer, Univer-sal Atomic Computer I (UNIVAC I) (see Figure 2), was shipped to the United States Air Force in 1952, nobody was indeed aware of what this fat guy would lead to in our social, economical, political, and psychological life. Its descendants, however, are now inevitable parts of our lives. They are helping us in many aspects of daily life. Control-ling machines, sending electronic mail, scheduling our plane tick-ets, communicating with our best friends, playing games, making our payments are only some of them.

PHILOSOPHY


If God can kill Himself, then He could not be accepted as God anymore because God is essentially eternal by definition. In order to have an intelligible idea of God, the scope of divine

power must exclude such absurdities.

Nazif Muhtaroglu


Judaism, Christianity and Islam, the three main monotheistic religions, describe God as an omnipotent, all-powerful agent. In other words,

God has power over everything. If God is de-scribed in this way, then the following ques-tions are raised immediately: Can God cre-ate a stone too heavy for him to lift? Can He make Himself nonexistent? Can He behave unjustly or lie? If we assume omnipotence as an essential attribute of God, then these questions seem to be puzzling. If the answer to such questions is yes, then it is like saying that we also accept that God can kill Himself. But if He can kill Himself, then He is not an eternal being, therefore not truly God. If the answer is no, then it would mean that He does not have enough power to perform the tasks in question, which would be a defect in His power, implying that He is imperfect. So again, He is not truly God. In any case, the answers to such questions produce a conflict in terms of the coherence of the traditional notion of God. This is the brief description of the problem, which is typically known as the “omnipotence puzzle.”

On the basis of the omnipotence puzzle, one can reject the existence of God as an absolutely perfect, omnipotent and eternal being because the notion of such a being seems to be incoherent, thus it has no real referent. However, there are various theistic views that try to make sense of this puzzle by preserving omnipotence as an essential prop-erty of God. Let’s examine Aquinas’s and al-Ghazzali’s views regarding omnipotence and see how an answer to such questions can be produced. Aquinas Aquinas was one of the most prominent fig-ures of Christianity in the Middle Ages. He attempted to systematize the Christian faith within the framework of Aristotelian philoso-phy. His philosophy is known as Thomism and accepted as the official doctrine of the Catholic Church to this day. One of the

central issues Aquinas dealt with was God’s nature and His omnipotence. Let us examine his ideas on this.

According to Aquinas, hypothetical cases such as God killing Himself or lying, imply contradictions in relation to God’s nature. God is eternal and truthful by nature. And in his terms, “anything that implies a contradic-tion does not fall within the power of God” (Aquinas, 1963, Q. 25, art. 3, p. 165). Con-tradictory cases are impossible; they could never happen. Since they are not genuine cases, divine power is not applicable to them. However, Aquinas did not carefully formu-late the idea he proposed here. In expressing this intuition he used the modal verb “can-not” with the subject term “God” in most cases. Take into account the following of his remarks:

God cannot make yes and no true at the same time, not because of His lack of power, but because of the lack of possi-bility, such things are intrinsically impos-sible (Aquinas, 1952, I-18, 19).

Even though he did not think that the term “cannot” in the sentence above does not pose a limitation on divine power because the case in question is not a genuine case, the linguistic meaning of “cannot” implies that God’s power is applicable to such a case, and therefore He is unable to do it. Let’s continue with al-Ghazzali’s view on omnipotence.

THE SENTENCE “GOD CANNOT DO X”

PRESUPPOSES THAT X IS INCLUDED IN THE

EXTENSION TO WHICH DIVINE POWER IS

APPLICABLE BUT GOD IS UNABLE TO DO IT. TO

AVOID THIS, AL-GHAZZALI SIMPLY SAYS “THE

IMPOSSIBLE IS NOT WITHIN DIVINE POWER.”

THE IDEA ASSUMED HERE BY AL-GHAZZALI IS

EXPRESSED BY THE NOTION OF CATEGORY

MISTAKES IN CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHY OF

LANGUAGE.


Al-GhazzaliAl-Ghazzali can be regarded as one of the most influen-tial Medieval theologians in the Islamic world. His criti-cisms directed to Avicenna’s or al-Farabi’s attempts to interpret Islam in terms of Aristotelian philosophy had a major influence on the formation of the Islamic world. He is usually considered to be a dogmatic theologian who attacked philosophy and prevented free thinking and intellectual progress in the Islamic world. However, if his criticisms are examined carefully, we see that his target was not the activity of philosophy but the false beliefs produced by certain philosophers. Avicenna and al-Farabi were critized by him on the grounds that their philosophies included some elements coming from Ar-istotelian philosophy, which is not accepted by Islam. It should be noted that his way of critizing them is not any less philosophical than his opponent’s way of arguing. He was certainly not dogmatic in rejecting them and engaged in philosophical activity in doing so. One of the most recurrent topics in his work was the omnipotence of God.

Like Aquinas, al-Ghazzali excludes contradictions or impossibilities from the scope of divine power. That is to say, impossibilities are not objects of power. Let’s examine what he says exactly in his masterwork, Tahafut al-Falasifa (The Incoher-ence of the Philosophers):

The impossible is not within the power [of being enacted]. The impossible con-sists in affirming a thing conjointly with denying it, affirming the more specific while denying the more general, or affirming two things while negating one [of them]. What does not reduce to this is not impossible, and what is not impossible is within [divine] power (al-Ghazali, 1997, 17 Discussion, 29 paragraph, 179).

However, al-Ghazzali is more sensitive than Aquinas in expressing this idea. In his main works where he analyzes omnipotence, the Tahafut and al-Iqtisad, he never uses “cannot” as a modal verb in a sentence whose subject is God. I think this was a conscious decision, because the semantics or meaning of the term “can” or “cannot” includes the idea of ability or inability to do something, which is closely linked to the notion of power. The sentence “God cannot do x” presupposes that x is included in the extension to which divine power is applicable but God is unable to do it. To avoid this, al-Ghazzali simply says “the impossible is not within divine power.” The idea assumed here by al-Ghazzali is expressed by the notion of category mistakes in contemporary philosophy of language. Category mistakesWhen an expression systematically misleads us because of category confusion in rep-resenting a certain fact, then it is a “category mistake” (Ryle, 1949, 16). For example, referring to faculties, libraries, museums and scientific departments as being in the same category with universities is a category mistake. The university is not a member of the class of which the listed units are members of, but it is rather the way in which all of them are organized (Ryle, 1949, 16). We can give more examples. Predicating colors of numbers is another category mistake. For example, “Number 2 is yellow” is a sentence asserted as a result of category confusion. Numbers are not the things to which the color predicates apply. In other words, color-predicates have a certain range or extension of applicability, which excludes numbers. On the other hand,

THE QUESTION

OF WHETHER OR

NOT GOD CAN

KILL HIMSELF IS

AN ILLEGITIMATE

QUESTION. IT

IS LIKE ASKING

THE FOLLOWING

QUESTION: HOW

MANY TIMES DID

YOU KICK YOUR

DOG? ASSUME THAT

YOU DON’T HAVE

A DOG. IF YOU DO

NOT HAVE A DOG,

THEN THERE IS NO

POINT IN ASKING

THE NUMBER OF

TIMES YOU KICKED

THE DOG THAT

YOU DO NOT EVEN

HAVE.


the properties of “being odd” or “being even” apply to numbers but not to material objects. To say that this chair is even is another category mistake.

So each predicate has a certain extension to which this predicate le-gitimately applies. Things or expres-sions that are not in the scope (exten-sion) of a certain predicate lead to a category mistake if they are associated with this predicate. So the sentence “God cannot do x” includes a cat-egory mistake if x is a contradiction because contradictions are not within the scope of divine power.

As a result, the question of whether or not God can kill Him-self can be answered in the follow-ing way by supporting al-Ghazzali’s unnamed intuition of category mis-takes: this question presupposes that divine power is applicable to such a case, but this is a category mistake. Because of that, this is an illegitimate question that can be an-swered neither by “yes” nor by “no.” It is like the following question: How many times did you kick your dog? Assume that you don’t have a dog. If you do not have a dog, then there is no point in asking the num-ber of times you kicked the dog that

you do not even have. Considering the reality, it is an absurd question. The notion of OmnipotenceAn answer formulated in this way, in response to the puzzle, treats the notion of power as a crucial element in understanding the relation be-tween God and the universe. It also allows us to understand the mean-ing of omnipotence clearly. An om-nipotent agent is an agent who can perform everything that falls under the scope of the notion of divine power. An omnipotent agent can-not be characterized as a being that is able to do anything unqualifiedly. Cases that do not fall under the scope of power are not legitimate cases to which divine power is ap-plicable. The classical criticism of this view is that God is limited by proposing such a scope of limita-tion. However, what is limited is not an agent, namely God, but a no-tion, which is divine power. Con-tradictions are used in determining the notion of divine power. So they put a limitation on the definition or meaning of “divine power,” rather than on the agent who is powerful. By excluding these contradictions from the scope of power and includ-ing things that are within this scope, the notion is defined. In this sense, defining is putting limitations on the notion of power. God concep-tualized in this way has infinite power, i.e. He can create everything that falls under the scope of power. Otherwise, allowing such contra-dictions within the scope of divine power will undermine of the very concept of God. Then, for instance, we should have said that God can kill Himself. If God can kill Him-self, then He could not be accepted as God anymore because God is essentially eternal by definition. In

order to have an intelligible idea

of God, the scope of divine power

must exclude such absurdities.

ConclusionAs it is shown in the sample case of

omnipotence, the apparently theolog-

ical problem has logical and linguistic

aspects. This puzzle can be handled

by some clarification of the meanings

of crucial terms regarding this puzzle.

Both Aquinas and al-Ghazzali were

aware of this aspect of the problem

even though they did not clearly ex-

press the intuition, which we call

“category mistakes,” in contempo-

rary philosophy of language. Much

confusion is encountered in daily life,

especially in the topic of religion, that

stems from the misuse of language. If

we want to get rid of such confusion

and be clear in our thinking, then we

should seriously ponder on the use

of language.

Nazif Muhtaroglu is a PhD can-didate in philosophy at the Univer-sity of Kentucky.

* Image credit for Al-Ghazzali on p. 40: Al-Ghazali: The Alchemist of Happiness, Matmedia Ltd.

BibliographyAl-Ghazali, Abu Hamid. Tahafut al-

Falasifa (The Incoherence of the Philosophers). Michael E. Marmura (tr.), Utah: Brigham Young Univer-sity Press, 1997.

Al-Iqtisad fi al-Itiqad. Ibrahim Agah Cubukcu and Huseyin Atay (ed.s), Ankara: Ankara Universitesi Ilahiyat Fakultesi Yayinlari, 1962.

Aquinas, Thomas. On the Power of God (Quaestiones disputatae de poten-tia Dei). Lawrence Shapcote. Trans. Westminster, Md.: The Newman Press, 1952.

Summa Theologiae. Latin text and Eng-lish Translation. T. Gilby. (ed). 60 vols. London, 1963.

Ryle, Gilbert. The Concept of Mind. London: Taylor and Francis Books. 1949.


CHEMISTRY

Iron is a fundamental element prevalent in the component of various goods, such as products made of steel, cars, airplanes, ships, computers, furniture, and catalysts utilized in industry, colored pigments, magnetic materials and many biological molecules such as hemoglobin.

Nanoscience and nanotechnology start-ed off in the early 1980s when scientists were able to detect materials on the nano-lev-el through microscopic systems. This devel-opment enabled the synthesis of nano-level materials such as carbon nanotubes, nano crystals, and metal oxide nanoparticles. Nanotechnology is a type of technology, re-sulting from the research conducted on the atomic, molecular and macromolecular levels. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. Nano-level studies are conducted with materials whose sizes

NANO-LEVEL STUDIES ARE CONDUCTED WITH MATERIALS

WHOSE SIZES RANGE BETWEEN ONE TO A HUNDRED

NANOMETERS. ONE OF THE MOST COMPELLING REASONS

THAT RENDERS THE RESEARCH WITH NANO-LEVEL

MATERIALS SO SIGNIFICANT IS THAT NANOPARTICLES

REFLECT A LOT MORE DIFFERENT CHARACTERISTICS THAN

WHEN THEY DO AT THE MACRO-LEVEL.

Oxide Nanoparticles And Surah (Hadeed)

IronIron

Iron is a fundamental element prevalent in the component of various goods, such as products made of steel, cars, airplanes, ships, computers, furniture, and catalysts utilized in industry, colored pigments, magnetic

And Surah (Hadeed)IronAnd Surah (Hadeed)IronAnd Surah (Hadeed)

Kamil EzginOmer Faruk Gulderen


range between one to a hundred nanome-ters. Studies on the nano-level are conducted in the contemporary science fields such as chemistry, materials science, physics, biology etc. One of the most compelling reasons that renders the research with nano-level materi-als so significant is that nanoparticles reflect a lot more different characteristics than when they do at the macro-level. Due to their small sizes, nanoparticles, especially those under 20 nm, have magnificent optical, magnetic, and chemical properties.[1] Nanoparticles include much more energy than the macro-level materials; this is because the ratio of the surface area of nanoparticles to their vol-ume is much more bigger than the ratio in macro-level materials. A significant amount of energy is stored in nanoparticles as free surface energy. This energy revealed on the nano-level not only increases the reactivity of iron nanoparticles (the propensity to chemi-cal reactivity), but also renders the magnetic qualities of materials quite differently than they would be at the macro-level.

Many types of nanoparticles are widely used in our daily lives. Iron, gold, silver and cadmium sulphide nanoparticles are some of the most commonly investigated nanoparticles. Yet iron nanoparticles receive special attention from scientists essentially in the field of biotechnology. Iron nanoparticles demonstrating different magnetic features have a wide range of use in fields, including but not limited to health care and electric/electronic industry. Ow-ing to its magnetic feature, iron is also used in magnetic recording. The pro-duction of needle-shaped iron nanoparticles with high magnetic features has facilitated the manufacturing of mobile electronic devices with a high record-ing capacity. In this paper, we will focus on the use of iron nanoparticles’ contribution to the advances in the field of biotechnology, among numerous other contributions of iron nanoparticles in other fields. NanobiotechnologyNanobiotechnology, among other fields of nanotechnology, is the field that focuses on biological systems. Nano-level devices designed to work with biosystems, nano-level cell biology, cell and nanoparticle interactions are some of the applications used in nanobiotechnology. Through those applications, biochemical processes and reactions in living beings can be scrutinized in great detail, which, in turn, enables scholars to come up with innovations in both diagnosis and treatment of various illnesses.

The following are the primary application areas of magnetic nanoparti-cles in the field of bionanotechnology: development of magnetic resonance imaging systems, and cancer research. Especially, iron oxides (magnetite, FeO, maghemite,FeO), owing to their cohesion with the chemical structure of biological systems, are prevalently used in biotechnology.

IRON NANOPARTICLES

RECEIVE SPECIAL

ATTENTION FROM

SCIENTISTS ESSENTIALLY

IN THE FIELD OF

BIOTECHNOLOGY.

IRON NANOPARTICLES

DEMONSTRATING

DIFFERENT MAGNETIC

FEATURES HAVE A WIDE

RANGE OF USE IN FIELDS,

INCLUDING BUT NOT

LIMITED TO HEALTH

CARE AND ELECTRIC/

ELECTRONIC INDUSTRY.


Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)MRI, mostly used in the medical field, is the method to monitor the inter-nal structure of living mechanisms. Through the magnetic area and radio frequency waves, the image of a living tissue is formed. MRI is a complex system that produces images based on the intensity and movements of hydrogen atoms in the tissue. The MRI technique is used to diagnose al-most all sorts of illnesses today. Yet it is most frequently used with illnesses pertaining to the central nervous system, brain and spinal cord. It has also been used to diagnose muscle-related and skeleton-related medical condi-tions, such as meniscus and herniated disc symptoms, as well as all types of neurological illnesses. MRI has not been found detrimental to any living organism thus far.

It is the paramagnetic ions such as gadolinium that are most frequent-ly used as contrast enhancement agents in MRI applications. Although gadolinium has a high moment, this moment is too low compared to su-perparamagnetic materials. For this reason, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles are known to be more efficient MRI contrast enhancement agents. Known as such, those iron oxide nanoparticles are quite advanta-geous over gadolinium. Those nanoparticles can easily be functionalized to interact with biological samples. For example, superparamagnetic nanopar-ticles, which are not normally taken up by cells efficiently, can do so after being covered with another material (e.g. Dextran) that can ordinarily go into a cell. Thus, MR images of particular tissues could be obtained clearly, which enables us to make more accurate diagnoses and treatments.

Iron oxide nanoparticles are also deemed to be an efficient potential future method in cancer treatment. The results of several studies conducted to fulfill this goal are encouraging.

Iron oxide superparamagnetic nanoparticles are being tested as a meth-od in hyperthermia treatment. Hyperthermia is defined as an abnormally high body temperature, and its treatment is carried out through the re-moval of certain tissues by increasing its temperature up to (42–46) 0C for 30 minutes. For instance, cancer infected liver tissues are exterminated through the hyperthermia method, which sends biologically activated iron oxide nanoparticles to those infected tissues. Moreover, none of the healthy tissues are damaged during this process. You may find more detailed infor-mation in references [1, 2, 4, 6] on how nanoparticles are aptly sent to the cancer infected tissues only while the surrounding healthy tissues remain unaffected by them. Hundreds of researchers carry out experiments and publish their findings on this topic everyday. Yet, further research needs to be done in order to reach solid conclusions.

Iron, which seems to carry greater potential significance than we previ-ously thought, should receive much attention from scholars due to the fact that a chapter (surah) in the Holy Qur’an is entitled “Iron” (Hadeed). The question is, why was a 29-line chapter in the Qur’an is called (Iron) when the word “iron” was only mentioned once throughout the entire chapter.

The chapter “Iron” first begins by drawing the reader’s attention to the attributes and praised names of God. It invites people to believe in God and his messenger Muhammed, peace be upon him, by exalting God as


the Almighty, Sovereign, Ruler, One whose existence is without a begin-ning and an end, Manifest and Hidden. Then, the chapter goes on to encourage believers to donate their wealth for the sake of God, for those who follow the word of God are rewarded with a place in Heaven. It also advises believers never to lose their ardor, while reminding them that even the earth will be resurrected after all has perished. And the wisdom behind the creation of iron is explained as such:

Assuredly We have sent Our Messengers with manifest truths (and clear proofs

of their being Messengers), and We have sent down with them the Book and the

Balance so that (relations among) humankind may live by equity. And We have

sent down iron in [the essence] which is stern might and benefits for humankind,

so that God may mark out those who help (the cause of) God and His Messengers,

though they do not see Him. Surely God is All-Strong, All-Glorious with irresistible

might. (57:25)

This particular verse includes several remarkable points. First, the very use of the phrase “sending down” for iron is so striking that it was also mentioned in [3, 5]. Another perplexing statement is, We have sent down iron in [the essence] which is stern might and many benefits for human-kind, which might pave the way for thought provoking venues regarding nanotechnology. The verse also indicates that which makes iron so special, its indiscernible or hidden qualities, rather than the outer surface of it. The specific reference to the “essence” of iron hints at this point. If the mes-sage of the verse had been related to the external qualities of iron, then the choice of the words would differ accordingly. Since the Qur’an is the word of God, there is wisdom behind the selection and sequencing of each word and letter. From this point of view, we can interpret that this verse informs us about the significance of the essence of iron on the nano level.

The significance of iron as stated in a single verse of the Qur’an has been briefly discussed. Numerous studies on the use of iron in nanotech-nology seem to be on the horizon, which will only contribute to our admi-ration for the miracle of the Qur’an.

Kamil Ezgin is pursuing a PhD degree in chemistry in USA. For corre-spondence with the author: [email protected]

References1. Dale L. Huber. Synthesis, Properties, and Applications of Iron

Nanoparticles, small, 2005, 1, No. 5, 482-501.2. An-Hui Lu, E.L. Salabas, and Ferdi Schuth, Magnetic Nanoparticles:

Synthesis, Protection, Functionalization, and Application, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2007, 46, 1222-1244.

3. Edib Maşûkî. “Enteresan Bir Tespit: Demirin Sakladığı Sır,” Sızıntı, 1985, No. 73.

4. Peter Majewski and Benjamin Thierry. “Functionalized Magnetic Nanoparticles- Synthesis, Properties, and Bio-Applications,” Critical Reviews in Solid State and Materials Sciences, 2007, 32, 203-215.

5. http://www.mergeous.com/bullet.asp?tag=726. Volker Mailander and Katharina Landfester, “Interaction of Nanopar-

ticles with Cells,” Biomacromolecules 2009, 10, 2379–2400.

THE MRI TECHNIQUE

IS USED TO DIAGNOSE

ALMOST ALL SORTS OF

ILLNESSES TODAY. YET

IT IS MOST FREQUENTLY

USED WITH ILLNESSES

PERTAINING TO THE

CENTRAL NERVOUS

SYSTEM, BRAIN AND

SPINAL CORD. IT

HAS ALSO BEEN

USED TO DIAGNOSE

MUSCLE-RELATED AND

SKELETON-RELATED

MEDICAL CONDITIONS,

SUCH AS MENISCUS

AND HERNIATED

DISC SYMPTOMS, AS

WELL AS ALL TYPES

OF NEUROLOGICAL

ILLNESSES.


Hospital chaplains often in-tersect a person’s life at the time of their most desper-ate need. An unwed mom

watches the scene unfold, as her newborn leaves the hospital with adoptive parents. An elderly gen-tleman speaks of war’s atrocities witnessed on the battle field, first-hand. Anxious, desperate parents wanting their young child to live, wait desperately for lab test results. Facing what may be the final season of life, saddened by illness, and un-realized hopes and dreams, many simply need to tell their stories.

Walking into patients’ rooms during random visits always de-mands courage, self-esteem, and a positive outlook, together with a strong sense of spirituality. But chaplains learn early on to over-

come a fear of rejection when they initiate a visit, enter a hospital room and experience a patient who opens their heart in a slow but sin-cere manner.

Some people think it is about religion. But I found that people accept or reject a chaplain’s visit for a variety of reasons. Religion often never enters the conversa-tion. Chaplains are, in most cases, expected to leave that part to the patients. We just carry them wher-ever they want to go. Sometimes people respond that they are “Okay that way,” which I interpreted as having their own way of meeting their spiritual or emotional needs. For many, loneliness was one of the main reasons to accept, and an-ger, the main reason to reject a visit from a chaplain.

A MOMENT FOR REFLECTION

Since the time Albert learned about his cancer, he has been seeing through a different lens; “All my accomplishments, my goals and ambitions meant nothing for me in seconds when I learned that I had cancer.”

ROOMINSIDE A PATIENT’S

Reverend Lucinda MillerGulsum Kucuksari


In the emergency room, when doctors put forth their greatest efforts to save a patient’s life, death is oh so near. How this death, which we always imagine as being a million miles away from us, so close at that moment? I reflect; “Am I in the same room with the angel of death at this very mo-ment?” The reality of death removes all blocks between the chaplain and the patient; it brings us back to our humanness and our primordial state in front of God.

I encounter lonely, elderly men. These were once tough men, brave men; men who fought in our country’s wars. They were hard workers, often at menial jobs done sacrificially to provide for their families. Most never knew how to express their emotions. Many of them, shattered by the horrors from fighting in wars and suffering family tragedies, needed to be heard. It is a privilege to be the one listening to their stories and moved by a compassion that was never before experienced.

It is not often that any of us witness older men shedding tears. In the privacy of our visit, they voiced their doubt, fear and anger. “No one should ever have to see what I saw, what I was involved in. God – where was God then?” My heart would be crying out to God, “How do I respond? What do I say?” They were asking difficult questions that deserved more than a glib reply. I did not possess the words or the compassion in my own strength. I needed to increasingly rely on God in my encounters. I too wondered “why” and felt their fear and frustration. I listened. I know “God works all things for the good for those who love him” (Romans 8:28). Yet, meeting these men and women, voicing their prayers and concerns to God with them, I grieved.

A life-threatening illness grants a saint’s wisdom to the most vulgar person. Not an automatic or an easy transition, but it cultivates the soul gradually, inch by inch. Since the time Albert learned about his cancer, he has been seeing through a different lens; “All my accomplishments, my goals and ambitions meant nothing for me in seconds when I learned that I had cancer.” Lost is the pleasure of health, and the reality of life and death are finally under daylight. The sick person has the longest time in the world to reflect on this.

Anxious and distressed, an old lady complains that the young do not understand the suffering that old age brings. “Why does God, whom we know as merciful and compassionate, let us suffer?” is a common question among the sick. Some patients are angry with God. Their inner struggle cov-ers up the beauty behind the illness. Yet, it is not ours to correct anything too fast. Their feelings are precious. Acceptance of God’s will can eventually follow the anguish, uneasiness and questioning in the beginning of illness.

To say that life sometimes hurts and is often unfair is an understate-ment. And it does not satisfy the “why” questions. Facing what is a major fear of all people, the loss of all we hold dear—abilities, youth, dreams, beauty, wealth, pride, fame, life itself—we can only listen.

They see with the eye of certainty and I come to understand with them, that our bodies are prone to separation and death; and the pleasures of this world do not continue. This warning is very bitter and painful at first, yet then it becomes beautiful. We should remember that we are mortal; we have a duty in life and we should prepare well for the next life. It is said that a

THEY SEE WITH THE EYE

OF CERTAINTY THAT OUR

BODIES ARE PRONE TO

SEPARATION AND DEATH;

AND THE PLEASURES

OF THIS WORLD DO

NOT CONTINUE. THIS

WARNING IS VERY BITTER

AND PAINFUL AT FIRST,

YET THEN IT BECOMES

BEAUTIFUL. WE SHOULD

REMEMBER THAT WE ARE

MORTAL; WE HAVE A

DUTY IN LIFE AND WE

SHOULD PREPARE WELL

FOR THE NEXT LIFE.


good friend is harsh but honest. So is illness, it seems.

Sometimes being around pa-tients’ sadness, fear and hopeless-ness day after day is depressing. But the most draining encounters are with the ones who have turned completely away from God. I hon-estly grieved for those, who in their times of terrible tragedy, seemed to feel no need for God.

Amidst the dark thoughts, I hear a patient reminding me that life is not only about sickness, but it is a reflection of God’s beautiful Names in miscellaneous ways. I happen to see only the sad part of patients’ life stories, as a chaplain, but that is not all. “Just as, through hunger, you learn of His Name, the All-Providing, so too through your illness, you come to know His Name, the All-Healing.”1

Thought-ful as he is, Jack says: “I might have cancer now, but I appreciate life in general; there is so much that I am thankful for. Just one big thing that I learned from my sickness: I never thought that I took life for granted. But now, I understand that I did.”

Arthur Frank, a former cancer patient and the author of At the Will of the Body, says there is a problem with the view that physical recov-ery is the ideal ending of illnesses. He asks “if recovery is taken to be the ideal, how is it possible to find value in the experience of an illness that either lingers on as chronic or ends in death?” Along the way of a

health problem, there is the oppor-tunity for spiritual transformation and renewal. This renewal, as a re-sult of physical illness, is the ideal. Either an illness ends with death or not, but one should be aware that there is more than pain that one can receive from illness. From Job we learn, “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” (Job 2:10).

I feel that this man who be-came poor-looking and weak in the hands of his illness was one of the fortunate ones, as he ben-efited from this gift of his serious illness. While some of his fellows become neglectful and forget God Almighty through the calamity of good health,

2 this man’s long talk

was only about God’s beautiful Names. His illness is good health while for some of his peers good health is a sickness.3

Listening to patients is the most valuable gift that one can offer them. Asking questions to make patients talk is one major task of a chaplain, and preaching is not a way to reach out to them without truly understand-ing their problems. Who would care to listen to any advice without given the right of being heard? As I listen to the words of wisdom pour out of this very old man, he reprimands me and says “You’re the one who should be preaching to me, but here I am preaching to you.” Yet I smile at these words of comfort about God’s love and our need for Him. And I remember the verse: “Those

who say when afflicted by calamity: “To God do we belong and to Him is our return” (Qur’an, 2:156).

Lucinda Miller is ordained in the Free Methodist denomination and is now serving as a hospice chaplain. Gulsum Kucuksari is in the process of completing her PhD in Islamic Studies at the University of Arizona.

Notes1. Said Nursi. The Gleams, Twenty-

Fifth Gleam, NJ: The Light, Inc., 2008, p. 292.

2. Ibid.3. Ibid. p. 293.

SOMETIMES BEING AROUND PATIENTS’ SADNESS, FEAR AND HOPELESSNESS DAY AFTER

DAY IS DEPRESSING. BUT THE MOST DRAINING ENCOUNTERS ARE WITH THE ONES WHO

HAVE TURNED COMPLETELY AWAY FROM GOD. I HONESTLY GRIEVED FOR THOSE, WHO

IN THEIR TIMES OF TERRIBLE TRAGEDY, SEEMED TO FEEL NO NEED FOR GOD.

The Tiniest Captains of

the Ocean

BIOPHYSICS

T he date of invention for compass still is not known with certainty. Some historians think that it was invented in China around 900 BC, while others claim that it was around 100 AD. The use

of a magnetized needle as a navigation tool, however, was not until twelfth century. This brief information can be found from history books, after a quick search on the history of com-pass. However, it cannot be considered complete, since it does not mention the nation that has been using nanometer size magnets to find their directions for millions of years. They are the navigators of deep oceans and small ponds utilized with a technology that took thousands of years of humankind to discover. They are magnetotactic bacteria.

In the early 1970s a young graduate student, Richard Blakemore, observed an interesting group of bacteria in a mud sample collected from Eel Pond in Massachusetts. These bacteria were migrating through a certain edge of the micro-scope slide. Rotating the slide did not affect their motion; they

51 MARCH / APRIL 2010

Ahmet Uysal


were still moving through north. Re-peating the experiment in the dark also showed that it was not light that affected the bacteria’s swimming direction. The experiments left one possible explanation to the directed motion of the bacteria and that was a crazy one—that they were sensing the magnetic field of the earth! It wasn’t hard for Blakemore to place a magnet next to the microscope slide and to prove that the crazy idea was indeed true. The bacteria were attracted by the south pole of the magnet and repelled by the north pole of it. This was the beginning of a new field of an interdisciplinary research, which attracted many sci-entists from very different fields such as, microbiology, physics, geophysics and paleogeology.

To understand how magnetotac-tic bacteria feel the magnetic field, it would be useful to check one’s trans-mission electron micrograph (Figure 1). The chain of magnetite (iron ox-ide) crystals forming a specialized or-ganelle, called magnetesome, can be seen easily. The length of the whole chain is around one micron and each small crystal is around 50–60 nanometers. Each small crystal can be considered as a small magnet. These small magnets are aligned in a way that they support each other and the chain becomes a strong magnet. A lipid bilayer membrane surrounds this chain and holds them together. Forming chains on a straight line is not an expected behavior for small magnetite crystals. If they are pro-duced synthetically, they accumulate together to form an aggregate. The pathways of chain formation in mag-netesome are still an open question.

Magnetotactic properties are not limited to a certain species. There are many different bacteria that have

magnetotactic properties. Therefore the magnetesomes may differ in size, length and even in chemistry. Some magnetotactic bacteria have greigite (iron sulfide) minerals instead of magnetite. Also there are magnetotac-tic bacteria that have more than one magnetesomes. (Figure 2)

Magnetesomes passively align bac-teria parallel to the geomagnetic field but do not exert a force on bacteria to change their speed. Aligned with the magnetic field, the bacteria decide to either move towards south or north. Interestingly, almost all magnetotactic bacteria in northern hemisphere are north-seeking, almost all magnetotac-tic bacteria in southern hemisphere are south-seeking, and magnetotactic bacteria living around the geomag-netic equator consist of almost equal number of bacteria of each magnetic polarity. The bacteria in northern and southern hemispheres may have different polarities but they have one thing in common; they both move downwards. The geomagnetic field is not exactly parallel to the earth’s sur-face except around the geomagnetic equator. As it may seem in Figure 3, the magnetic field lines are tilted up and down respectively in southern and northern hemispheres. Therefore the north-seeking bacteria in northern hemisphere end up at the bottom of the water and so do the south-seeking bacteria in southern hemisphere. Most of the magnetotactic bacteria cannot survive in atmospheric oxygen levels, so sensing vertical position and mov-ing downwards, where oxygen concen-tration is low, is crucial for them.

Being north-seeking or down-seeking, i.e. polarity, is a genetic property for magnetotactic bacteria. Almost all progenies (descendants) of a north-seeking cell are also north-seeking cells. However this requires

Figure 1 TEM Image of a Magnetotactic Bacterium

(from reference 1)

Figure 2: TEM images of magnetesomes from two different magneto-

tactic bacteria. (from reference 2)


partition of magnetesomes to each daughter cell during the divi-sion. Occasionally, daughter cells may have no magnetesomes or they maybe too small to have a magnetic moment, so they develop their own magnetesomes. When these progenies develop their own magnetesomes they may have either polarity. Therefore any natural population of magnetotactic bacteria has less than 0.5% “wrong” polarity members. Wrong is written in quotation marks because without that “mistake” magnetotactic bacteria would live only in one hemisphere of the earth.

Magnetotactic bacteria are not the only creatures that can sense geomagnetic field. For example birds, also, can sense geomagnetic field and find their direction while they are migrating. However, birds use other factors such as sun and the horizon to find their direction and their body is much more complex. Also they do not

sense magnetic field in a mechanical way like magnetotactic bacteria do, but prob-ably they have some complex chemical ways of magnetic reception. That is an-other research field by itself and this article’s volume is not enough to go into it.

Everything, every entity that we see around us calls us to reflect upon their Creator. The ones that we see with electron microscopes or high-tech tools are not exceptions. Magnetotactic bacteria synthesizes magnetite crystals from

scratch and then puts them in an order like beads hitched on a string. Could it be possible for them to manage this incredible task on their own accord and without acting in the name of God? To this day we cannot even understand the basic principles of that process to its complete degree in order to mimic it. In fact, the more we understand the more we esteem and at awe we become from the great craft of Supreme Artist.

Auroras (northern lights), with their beautiful colors, make long winter nights more bearable in Arctic Circle. They are emitted by charged particles, something very harmful for living creatures if ever reached to earth’s surface and trapped in earth’s geomagnetic field.

(Figure-4) While thinking about magnetotactic bacteria I remember those beau-tiful scenes I had seen in pictures that had caught my awe and wonder and can’t help but express deep gratitude once more to the Creator and Sustainer of it all, of us all, who guides the tiny little cells to more livable environments with the very same geomagnetic field that He protects us from harmful solar winds. Extraordinary is the ordinaries we are surrounded by!

Ahmet Uysal is a PhD candidate in Physics at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.

References1. Blakemore, Richard P. 1982, “Magnetotactic bacteria”. Ann. Rev. Micrbiol. 36:217-2382. Schüler, Dirk. 2008, “Genetics and cell biology of magnetesome formation in magneto-üler, Dirk. 2008, “Genetics and cell biology of magnetesome formation in magneto- Dirk. 2008, “Genetics and cell biology of magnetesome formation in magneto-

tactic bacteria”. FEMS Microbiol. Rev., 32:654-6723. Komeili, Arash. 2007, “Molecular mechanisms of magnetesome formation”. Annu.

Rev. Biochem. 76:351-3664. Ritz, Thorsten; Salih Adem; and Klaus Schulten, 2000, “A model for photoreceptor-

based magnetoreception in birds”. Biophysical Journal. 78:707-7185. http://www.birdgeo.com/images/CTE1810.jpg6. http://solar-center.stanford.edu/images/solar-wind-magfield_b.gif

Figure 3 Earth’s magnetic field is not parallel to the surface

except around magnetic equator. (from reference 5)

Figure 4 Earth’s magnetic field shields earth from solar winds.

(from reference 6)

A s the titanic waves engulfed and threatened the Ark, an unseen “hand” guided and

protected it; until its final destina-tion to safety. The old cliché, “his-tory repeats itself,” embedded in my mind. I felt this event recurs in different forms and contexts in our daily lives; and perhaps in the con-tinual “rising and falling” epochs of human history.

Over the millennia, Noah’s Ark and the Great Flood has been documented in several revelations and scriptures and related across a myriad of cultures and civilizations more or less in the same form. Every major creed, every race or civilization will have something to say about “The Great Flood.” The re-iteration of such an overwhelm-ing event over thousands of years of history seems to convey a timeless message, as well as certain codes of universal moral conduct.

Many aspects from the world of matter are reflected as sublime meanings in the spiritual or meta-physical realm. If the Ark is likened to a spiritual and social sanctuary, then the great flood symbolizes not only a physical destruction of Earth

THE GREAT MIRACLE

OF NOAH’S ARK,

A SIGNIFICANT

EVENT IN THE

COMMON HISTORY

OF HUMANKIND,

REPRESENTS THE

TRUE SPIRITUAL

SANCTUARY

OF FAITH THAT

CAN GUARD

HUMANITY FROM

DROWNING IN

THE TUMULTUOUS

OCEAN OF LIFE.

PERSPECTIVES

54MARCH / APRIL 2010

Sebnem Unlu


but also a destruction of the spiritual and moral aspects of humanity. The surging of flood waters and the sink-ing feeling are analogous to the spiri-tual drowning of a lost individual in the ocean of life. Overwhelmed and burdened by a heavy weight on their shoulders, they are unable to carry on their journey in safety. Although the soul constantly seeks and yearns for continuous safety and security where it can let go of the heavy bur-dens of daily life and take a deep breath, it usually turns towards many false sanctuaries or havens. Not having adequate protection, the great floods of spiritual turmoil eventually drown and suffocate it.The Ark as a representation of faithJust like the physical need for air, water and food, the human soul similarly needs its own nourish-ment to survive. Without this food, it gradually decays and dies, where-in the heart becomes hardened, and a loss of sensitivity towards its environment begins. This apathy is the slow death of the human soul. In this context, the great miracle of Noah’s Ark, a significant event in the common history of human-kind, represents the true spiritual sanctuary of faith that can guard humanity from drowning in the tu-multuous ocean of life.

In fact, true concern for and connection with others can only be found in faith. One can even say that the greatest spiritual sanctuary and satisfaction for the human soul is faith. It enables the human soul to “let go” of those burdens that pull it down and drown it in mate-rialism. It illuminates the heart and mind to truly feel and see beyond the prism of material life. The false perception that this fleeting world is the only goal of our life will not

and cannot satisfy the innate need of the human soul for permanence and perfection. Neither comfort, wealth, nor a high social status (in-cluding other attractive but destruc-tive desires like the love of fame) will satisfy these needs, as they are just means to a great end, not an end in themselves.

Faith is both light and power.1

Only the attainment of true faith can enable one to overcome any con-fronting challenges. The great en-during quality of the Ark resonates with the great qualities generated from a deep, certain faith. These attributes include perseverance and patience in doing good both in times of prosperity and in adversity, where it is especially difficult to do good in times of hardship, and even more so in times when advocating good is deemed dubious. The Ark: A representation of com-mon universal values The great dangers surrounding and threatening our existence are not just in the visible world around us, but also within us: arrogance, pride, selfishness, greed, oblivion

to the suffering or needs of others and many other such traits. We can certainly say that all these dangers, whether apparent or dormant, rep-resent a “Great Flood” and, if cor-rect precautions are not taken, they are bound to crush us – either physi-cally or spiritually or perhaps both.

“The Ark” on the other hand can represent the common univer-sal values that humanity at large shares. When the core human virtues, such as being trustworthy, honest, loyal, sincere, and patient, are applied correctly and appropri-ately, they will be a means to pro-tect us from the threat of the impos-ing “Great Flood.”

One can even say that the force of “The Flood” is so enormous that a protective sanctuary of an “Ark” with the ability to withstand such a destructive force is inevitable. This Ark must be established through the co-operation and dialogue of cul-tures, where the common universal values of humanity are realized and brought forth again. It will be these shared values of humanity that will serve as a protective shield against


the debasing forces of “the Flood,” the real threat to our existence.

The common universal values of humanity are the moral pillars that will and can move each indi-vidual to take action for the sake of all and for the betterment of all because in essence these values are based upon recognizing the great, common needs we share rather than our apparent differences. Hence, for the sake of our common needs, it is pertinent to make every effort to co-operate and prevent ani-mosities to the best of our abilities.

The application of these values requires the alleviation of miscon-ceptions and misunderstandings of the great systems that formed civilizations, as well as pro-active dialogue between cultures, commu-nities and individuals. Becoming increasingly more relevant in a con-stantly developing “global village” such as our contemporary society, these values will be founded and driven by respect, appreciation for the differences of cultures and their contributions to world history. As each individual is a masterpiece of the Creator of the Universe, then their freedom or right to belief, ex-pression and travel should not be violated, for each individual has an inviolable dignity and honor. The contemporary “social sanc-tuaries” or “Arks”Existence is based upon the cre-ation of opposites. Just as the dark-est hour of the night happens be-fore dawn; so too the Ark provided much needed solace and sanctuary as the “Great Flood” engulfed all. Similarly, the contemporary “social Ark” will serve to rectify and pro-tect humanity from the social tor-ment and tumults of our current times. Indeed, a great characteristic

of a contemporary “social sanctu-ary” is that it will receive its energy and passion from deep faith and an ultimate sense of responsibility for its actions aiming to reinstate the common values of humanity first within itself and then with others. Each individual (moving as part of a collective whole) of this society will be a kind of “devotee and ad-vocate of love” to provide selfless, altruistic service, consciously reach-ing out to help the community they come across and to overcome their problems at the expense of their own worldly desires. Being aware of their unremitting duty of grati-tude and obligation towards the Creator, their philosophy will be to give without expecting anything in return, seeking only His approval. They will suffer great distress, but in this process they will set forth a great example of tolerance, re-spect, understanding and gener-osity. Over the last three decades, millions of individuals have been moved in this way through the inspiration of a great thinker and leader, Fethullah Gülen. 2, 3

One of the greatest diseases of our current times is prejudice and discrimination. Millions of people have suffered and still continue to suffer great anguish as a result of this crippling psychological and social disorder. The contemporary “social Ark” will take upon itself to help cure this disease by con-sciously drawing attention against the mentality which disregards the myriad of similarities and great common needs of humanity but in-stead focuses on small but unique differences of individuals or com-munities, thereby sowing the seeds of hatred. In contrast, they will actively teach what a great act of

justice it is to focus on what brings humanity together rather than what seems to divide them. To further demonstrate this reality with ex-ample, they will recruit all their per-sonal resources within their reach to melt the icebergs in hearts and bring together communities. Their actions will serve to blow out the fires of ha-tred and jealousy, fostering what has been neglected for centuries.

As they do so, they will learn and demonstrate how to hate hatred (which is easy to do) and love the act of caring (which is difficult to do). They will establish platforms where people can find common ground to work together to solve the current chaotic problems of our times. Social justice will be born when individu-als begin to realize that each person is a unique master-piece that reflects (like a mirror) the most beautiful attri-butes of its Creator in various ways. When individuals will not be judged by their differences, but when their differences will be viewed as enrich-ment and a contribution, true global peace will arise. At that point human-ity will board the final Ark of social justice and find solace and comfort in appreciating each other.

Sebnem Unlu, PhD, is a Research Faculty at University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, USA. For correspon-dence with the author: [email protected] or [email protected]

Notes1. Bediüzzaman Said Nursi. The Words,

Twenty-third word, Third point, The Risale-i Nur Collection.

2. Mücahit Bilici. “The Fethullah Gülen Movement and Its Politics of Repre-sentation in Turkey,” The Muslim World, volume 96, Issue 1, pgs. 1-20.

3. Şerif Ali Tekalan. “A movement of Volunteers.” Paper presented at the conference “Islam in the Contem-porary World: The Fethullah Gülen Movement in Thought and Practice,” Rice University, Nov. 12-13, 2005.

Only those who see with God and hear with God can

appreciate the beauty that spreads throughout existence

as their senses are tuned to the spiritual realms. ***

Dear Peter! I, your mus-cular system, would like to talk to you today; I al-

low you to walk and do all kinds of movements very easily. In the most recent essay of this depart-ment, the skeletal system, which works together with me, discussed how it protected your body and enabled you to stand straight and

firm. Sure, this is true. However, as you know, huge rocks and trees can stand straight, too; but they do not have what you do—the ability to move. They are rigid and inflexible because they do not have a system that allows them to move.

You on the other hand, as the most splendid creation in the en-tire universe, have mobility. All

YOU, HUMAN

BEINGS ARE LIKE

NEITHER THE

ANIMALS NOR

THE PLANTS. YOU

HAVE NOT BEEN

CREATED TO LIVE

LIKE A TREE THAT

IS PEGGED DOWN

IN EARTH OR LIKE

AN ANIMAL THAT

UNCONSCIOUSLY

TRIES TO MEET ONLY

ITS BIOLOGICAL

NEEDS.

SEE-THINK-BELIEVE


Irfan Yilmaz

LEAD ARTICLE

animals have mobility at different levels, thanks to the muscular tis-sues, which work dy-namically behind all the moving organs. However, you, human beings are like neither the animals nor the plants. You have not been created to live like a tree that is pegged down in earth or like an animal that unconsciously tries to meet only its biological needs. Our Designer, God, has made you and your descendants the most important of all creation. He has given you qualities that help you to discover the world, learn, invent and establish new civilizations. To realize such potential and to carry out such duties, you need to first have the freedom to make changes in your small immediate world, which can only be done through motion. In order to enable you with this ability to move, my Cre-ator has put me at your service. I am a system that comprises hun-

dreds of muscles and millions of packed cells.

My most important feature is the cells that move by burning sug-ar, like a motor consuming fuel in order to work. My cells can shorten and lengthen thanks to the intra-cellular fibrils (myofilaments) that contract and expand. As a result of each contraction, I pull the bone or the organ that I am attached to and cause it to move or change shape. With the exception of your heart, your bones and organs cannot move on their own. Their ability to move depends on the nature of the muscle they are attached to.

Indeed, I can be called both an organ and a form of tissue. I can use my contraction ability not only as muscle tissue, but also as an organ and a system which runs through-out your body. That is the reason why I appear in so many different types and shapes of muscle bun-dles. Let me give you an example to help you better understand what a

muscle consists of: Let us imag-ine that a thin thread is like

a basic muscular cell. Let us now bring together a great number of threads

and make string out of them. Then, let us bring together those strings and make a clothes line. Next, let us bring together a great number of clothes lines and make a very thick rope. Now, imag-ine this thick rope as a muscle and an organ. Yet, this example is too basic compared to the sophisticated muscle.

Very thin cotton fibrils make up the thin threads. In the mus-cle fiber, like those cotton fibrils, there are two filaments formed by the two types of protein molecules called actin and myosin, which help in the contraction function. Those little filaments are placed fac-ing one another and they slide past each other during the contraction, which causes the muscle fibers to shorten. That is how the contraction

animals have mobility at different levels, thanks to the muscular tis-sues, which work dy-namically behind all the moving organs. However, you, human beings are like neither the animals nor the plants. You have not been created to live like a tree that is pegged down in earth or like an animal that unconsciously tries to meet only its biological needs. Our Designer, God, has made you and your descendants the most important of all creation. He has given you qualities that help you to discover the world, learn, invent and establish new civilizations. To realize such potential and to carry out such duties, you need to first have the freedom to make changes

dreds of muscles and millions of packed cells.

My most important feature is the cells that move by burning sug-ar, like a motor consuming fuel in order to work. My cells can shorten and lengthen thanks to the intra-cellular fibrils (myofilaments) that contract and expand. As a result of each contraction, I pull the bone or the organ that I am attached to and cause it to move or change shape. With the exception of your heart, your bones and organs cannot move on their own. Their ability to move depends on the nature of the muscle they are attached to.

Indeed, I can be called both an organ and a form of tissue. I can use my contraction ability not only as muscle tissue, but also as an organ

muscle consists of: Let us imag-ine that a thin thread is like

a basic muscular cell. Let us now bring together a great number of threads

and make string out of them. Then, let us bring together those strings and make a clothes line. Next, let us bring together a great number of clothes lines and make a very thick rope. Now, imag-ine this thick rope as a muscle and an organ. Yet, this example is too basic compared to the sophisticated muscle.

Very thin cotton fibrils make up the thin threads. In the mus-cle fiber, like those cotton fibrils, there are two filaments formed by the two types of protein molecules called actin and myosin



and relaxation of a muscle occurs. Peter, do you think that coinci-

dence plays a role in this complex and wonderful mechanism and the incredible structure which I have attempted to simplify with an example? Not even a simple thread can be produced without a thread-maker or a machine. Each of your muscles comprises billions of fibers, wrapped all around your bones and giving shape to your body. Can such a complex and del-icately intricate structure exist on its own and be positioned in the best place it could possibly be?

My muscles consist of bundles that are made of thousands of muscle fibrils; the size and shape of each muscle depends on which bone it is attached to and what function it does. For example, the muscles that move the bones in your arms and legs are long and spindle-shaped; whereas the ones that are attached to your body can be circular, or triangular, or spread over a broad area. What-ever shape they have, the red skeletal muscles, which are attached to your bones, are very strong and they are voluntary muscles, which mean you can control their movement. When you walk, run, do something with your hands, lie down or stand up, you always use my red striated mus-cles. The strias (stripes) can only be seen under a microscope because of the histological structure of these skeletal muscles that make up a great part of your body.

My smooth muscles are invol-untary muscles that work without your control. Their movements are slow and their contractions last longer, which is the reason why they do not tire easily. The smooth muscles lie in the walls of diges-tive system, blood vessels, and uri-

nary tract, but I will not talk much about them since each system has referred to the smooth muscles within itself and in detail in previ-ous talks. Because they are not at-tached to your skeleton to work, the smooth muscles do not play a role in your movements, such as walk-ing around; they only work for the movements of your inner organs.

The third type of muscle belongs to your heart (cardiac muscle) and although the heart has a little stri-ated muscle tissue, it, too works in-voluntarily. Therefore, you should be aware of the fact that it is the striated muscles which work for the movement of the skeleton and do the major job, and that it is this that we refer to when we say “muscle”.

A great number of bones have been created in order to support your body and joints have been placed between those bones for them to take the proper shape ac-cording to every movement. How-ever, none of those joints has the ability to move by itself. A door or a window, no matter how good it is, cannot be opened or closed without an outside force to pull or push it. In the same way, a joint needs a force to move it and that force is produced by your muscu-lar system. There are around 340 muscles included in your muscular system. Since some of these do sev-eral different functions, and it has been estimated that all the muscles in your body perform 510 differ-ent functions! While some of those functions are bone movements in your joints, other muscles can per-form movements without moving a bone at all. Muscles that are placed in your forehead, face, eye lids and abdomen are those kinds of mus-cles. They can help you look wor-

ried by wrinkling your forehead or grimacing when you are disgusted by something.

Keeping with tradition, the muscles that are included in my system have been named based on the function they perform. For ex-ample, the muscle which moves an organ part towards another part is called an abductor, while the mus-cle that straightens a joint is an ex-tensor, and the muscle that bends a joint is a flexor; the muscle that raises a part of the skeleton is a le-vator, that which the muscle makes a part of an organ prone is a prona-tor, the muscle that rotates a part of an organ is a rotator and that which brings an organ into a supine posi-tion is called a supinator.

In order for you to make all the movements that your body needs, my muscle components have to be both very strong and flexible. The most important feature of my muscle components is that they can be trained and strengthened with a systematic workout. The main goal of all sportsmen who compete is to increase the strength and the endur-ance of their muscles. As a result of intense exercises with weight and speed, the number, the diameter and the length of my muscle fibers will in-crease. Thus, I can gain more power to be able to do more work and also gain the ability to contract faster.

However, in addition to all this training and exercise, genetic fac-tors also play a role in my health. For this reason, not everybody who works out can become a good sportsman; but if the person has in-nate muscular and skeletal capacity, with good exercise this capacity can certainly be enhanced and devel-oped. However, if a person does not have the proper muscular structure


for a particular sport, it would be unfair to expect them to be a cham-pion! Although my muscles always seem to be of the same type at first sight, I might show different behav-ior depending on the distribution of the special fibers inside them. Some of my fibers twitch fast and tire eas-ily, some of them twitch slowly and tire later. Depending on the distri-bution of these different fibers, the movements and sport that every person can do differ from person to person. In this case, an athlete who can run only 100m and an athlete who can run 10,000m do not have the same development of muscles; they have different amounts and dis-tributions of special muscle fibers.

The contraction of any of my muscles can occur in two differ-ent ways: If the pressure put on my muscle is stronger than the re-sistance of the tissue, the tension remains constant and the muscle shortens. This is called an isotonic contraction. If the pressure put on my muscle is equal to the resis-tance, the tension of my muscle increases and its length does not change. That is called an isometric contraction. The amount of force that occurs during the contraction of my muscle depends on its length and the amount of the stimulus.

In order to produce muscle contraction, an electrical signal is sent through a motor neuron to the synaptic gap, which is positioned between the muscle cell membrane and the nerve cell. As a result, a chemical reaction occurs, which, in a very short time, causes the actin and myosin proteins in the muscle fibril to slide past each other and thus shorten the fibril, contracting the muscular cells. During this re-action, the temperature also rises

a little and the total heat generated by all the muscles determines your body temperature. For this rea-son, in cold weather, my muscles vibrate, increasing your body tem-perature and trying to maintain it. You may now understand why moving the parts of the body in cold weather helps people avoid from getting sick or freezing. As you can see, every act of my Creator is quite purposeful, isn’t it? He can create two or even more functions within one task: Through your muscles, He not only provides you with the ability to move freely, but heat is also produced and you are protected from getting cold.

When a muscle fiber contracts frequently as a result of successive electrical impulses from a nerve fi-ber, it becomes tired after a while and needs rest. In this case, other muscle fibers which have not con-tracted for a while will take over and continue the job. However, if the electrical impulses from the nerve come too frequently and my muscle fibers do not have an opportunity to rest, a condition of constant con-traction, which is known as physi-ologic tetanus, occurs.

The tension receptors that are placed on my muscles help main-tain the harmony and coordination of all your movements including walking and running, bouncing and sitting down. They do this by constantly signaling the nerve sys-

tem and providing feedback about the condition of my muscles, and about the speed and the inten-sity of contraction. Thus, through these receptors which control and coordinate my muscle activities, the well-being of my system is ensured. It is this that prevents you from wobbling when you walk, or helps you to take a spoonful of soup to your mouth without spilling it.

Like any other tissue or system, I, too have some special disorders. The most common disorders are: weakness, malformation, muscles that develop and move involuntari-ly and habitually, especially in your face (tic), infected muscles (myo-site), muscle dystrophy, muscle rigidity (the Stiffman Syndrome), benign or malignant muscle tu-mors (leiomyom, rhabdomyoma, or Rhabdomyosarcoma). These disorders differ in their degree of severity and risk.

Dear Peter! You have now seen that each muscle helps your organs to move, holding your bones and giving shape and function to your body, making you a beautiful mod-el and an inspiration for sculptors. You may have understood that this is a work of knowledge and might; there is no way that the myofibril in my one cell could form by itself as a result of a coincidence.

Irfan Yilmaz is a professor of biology at Dokuz Eylul Un., Izmir, Turkey.

LEAD ARTICLELEAD ARTICLE

Selflessness is when one relin-quishes oneself from certain personal desires and aspira-

tions, forgoing certain goals associ-ated with property or wealth, and even values associated with one’s self-honor and dignity, all for the sake of lofty aims and noble goals. When a person is able to actualize such renouncements in their life, then that person can be considered to be a selfless person.

For example, when one, either through individual or collective ef-forts, relentlessly endeavors to exalt faith and spirituality, and in their pursuit builds centers and institutes for learning, establishes schools, or when dormitories and youth cen-ters are built to cater to the needs and demands of the younger gen-erations, when all these are enabled, either through financial support or through one’s own voluntary work, then such acts are considered to be sacrifices. Given that the intent be-hind is purely to serve an exalted aim that is greater than the self, then the only criteria is to make the doer of these acts a selfless person, or a person of sacrifice.

A closer examination will re-veal that there is no contradiction

between selflessness and reason. In other words, selflessness, or sacrifice, is not a mere emotional expression that is incongruent to reason. In fact, not only does rea-son justify selflessness, arguably it necessitates it. At an immediate and rather superficial glance, a con-tradiction between the two may be observed. Let us take, for example the numbers of selfless people who, while working tirelessly in ed-ucational institutes and campaigns, make great self sacrifices, although fully aware that none of the fruits of their genuine labor will show immediate results. Yet they devote their entire lives and health to these campaigns. It is as if God has be-stowed on them special favors, for their work becomes far more effi-cient and productive then reason would allow. The cycle continues, as they in turn use these favors for furthering their efforts.

For those onlookers who may view the matter with little reflec-tion, such attitudes can be consid-ered to be apparent contradictions to reason. To selflessly strive for some cause and sacrifice thousands of other truths for the sake of one truth may appear to them to be a

sacrifice that unnecessarily conflicts with reason.

However, if the heart has at-tained enlightenment beyond the discernment of the inner workings of the universe, then the depth in appreciation takes on a different aspect. If one realizes that every-thing in creation flows towards the Hereafter and if the compelling beauty of The Most Beautiful One is felt within one’s conscience, then thousands of years of happiness in this world cannot equate a single minute of life in Paradise and thou-sands of years of life in Paradise cannot equal a moment’s view of the beauty of Almighty God; here then the tradeoff between the fleet-ing pleasure of this world to that of the unending Hereafter will not be even as precious as the wing of a small insect. A person with such depth and foresight can perfectly exercise reason and will willingly make apparent sacrifices for real re-turns that will be attained from the transcendent realms.

In our time we have sent out rockets to explore the speculative possibilities of cities in space. Let us take this as a reality and for a moment imagine that such a source

Do acts of selflessness conflict with reason? What is the measure of agreement we should seek between the two?

Measure of selflessness


of comfort, which is beyond both the sight and hearing of human be-ings, has actually been discovered; here, life does not resemble our way of living and is beyond our comprehension. Large amounts of funds are spent to transport hu-manity there. In this process, there is a good probability that some will fail to perceive the possibility and may question the motives for such a prospect; this is because they are unfamiliar with these worlds and the goal may sound unfathom-able to them. Objections may be raised with arguments like: “Many people are dying of hunger in Af-rica, but you are traveling to outer space with shuttles for the sake of adventure and are wasting large amounts of money.”

This approach is the outcome of superficial reasoning. What if, indeed, such a world was discov-ered? What would happen if one day a happier world outside this contaminated and muddled earthly life was to be found and somehow we could all be moved there, where our lives—with God’s grace—could continue happily for years to come? That is, a time will come when ev-eryone will realize that this service has good and valuable implications for all of humanity and is certainly compatible with reason.

The innate ability to fathom far-reaching and multi-dimensional rea-soning surely surpasses the limits of our logic; yet, it is clearly conceivable on a logical basis, beyond the influ-

ence of five sensory shackles, that every act of sacrifice made to this end is necessary. Therefore, endeav-ors to achieve greater future benefits cannot be considered to be illogical.

Similarly, a believer’s quest can be likened to the above. In order to attain a life of genuine happi-ness in Paradise and the privilege of meeting with the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and in order to be mesmerized by the beauty of Almighty God Himself, all efforts or selfless acts made in the process only confirm the need for such a logical investment.

Most of the time, the criticisms that are hurled at those people of sacrifice come from no deeper an analysis than the above; they are usually based on shallow reason-ing. In fact, such criticisms stem from two streams of different perspectives of the world. Hasan al-Basri once touched on this dif-ference when he profoundly re-marked: “If you had seen the Com-panions of the holy Prophet, you would call them ‘mad.’ … and if they had seen you, they would hesi-tate and ask, ‘are they believers?’”

Today is no different; some people may regard those who are engaged in sacrificial services as “mad” and question “why should you work so hard without any ma-terial gain?” This perception is re-vealing and delineates those who contemplate personal return and benefit in every act. In other words, for those mindsets who carry the

proverbial attitude: “what’s in it for me?” it is not possible to understand why an elderly or infirm person would want to continue working just like an ordinary person, for example in the construction of a building or campaigning for donations for their good work, or for that matter, allo-cate all their physical and/or men-tal efforts towards a cause. Indeed, such mindsets cannot conceive the possibility of making all these sacri-fices just to please God. As a result of their failure to grasp this, they will continue with their misguided con-siderations and false accusations of such selfless work.

On the other hand, for those of us with the insight to see beyond the materiality of things, selfless acts are perfectly normal and the most intelligent person is the one who is prepared to give up every-thing they own to serve God by serving humanity. If a person with such breadth and depth of heart is not seen to sacrifice all of their wealth all at once, then chances are high that they are most probably cherishing the noble thought: “Let me hold back part of my wealth so that I can invest it to earn more therefore continue to spend in the path to God.”

To sum up, it is clear there is no essential contradiction between selflessness and logic. I can safely and confidently assert that logic en-tails sacrifice. Whoever can grasp this fine point will use their logic to make more profound sacrifices.



The modern running shoe was not invented until the 1970s. However, the pre-sumption that running ba-

refoot is dangerous and causes pain could be wrong. To explain this phenomenon, scientists studied three groups of people in the United States and Kenya: those who had al-ways run barefoot, those who had always worn shoes, and those who had converted to barefoot running from shod running. They found a striking pattern: the three groups positioned their feet differently; while most shod runner people made initial contact with the gro-und heel-first (rear-foot striking), barefoot runners used their flat feet (mid-foot striking) or the lateral ball of the feet (fore-foot striking) first. Kinematic and kinetic analyses sho-wed that barefoot runners who used the fore-foot or mid-foot strike gene-rated smaller collision forces than

Barefoot Running

Cancer-Causing DNA Mutations Are Deciphered

1

2

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:LIEBERMAN, D.E. ET AL., NATURE 463, 531 (2010).

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: PLEASANCE, E.D. ET AL., NATURE 463, 184 & 191 (2010).

the rear-foot strikers with shoes. This means that it is possible to run barefo-ot on the world’s hardest surfaces witho-ut experiencing the slightest discomfort or pain; all one needs is a few calluses to avoid damaging the skin. It is also cle-ar that running-shoe companies and ot-her footwear designers should pay more attention to how God designed our body and redesign more appropriate shoes for running.

Mutations Are Deciphered

SCIENCE SQUARE

DNA mutations are changes in the DNA code caused by exter-nal or internal agents known as mutagens. Scientists have

identified mutations from lung can-cer and skin cancer and have compa-red them to normal samples in order to find the mutations that lead to these

cancers. They have identified ~23,000 mutations in lung can-cer (small-cell lung cancer) and ~33,000 mutations in skin can-cer (melanoma). The researchers re-vealed that most of these mutations are single-base DNA changes, suggesting that they are a direct cause of the carci-

nogens in tobacco smoke and UV light. Under normal con-ditions, our cells are equip-ped with a “DNA repair mecha-nism” which detects any chan-ges in the DNA code and repa-irs it. However, when excess amount of mutations occur due to tobacco smoke in our lungs or to too much exposure to sunlight in our skin cells, the DNA repair mechanism cannot repair all of the mutations. Ac-cumulations of these mutati-ons lead to cancer—a state in which cell division has gone out of control. Scientists have calculated that every 15 ciga-

rettes cause one mutation in the DNA. These studi-es will be immensely use-ful for understanding the reasons behind the gene-tic changes in cancer and

more importantly they will provide a comprehensive ca-

talogue of mutations that can be used for cancer diagnosis and treatment.


The Molecule with a Thousand Faces

Scientists Inspired by the Spider Web

3

4

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: EHRE D. ET AL., SCIENCE 327, 672 (2010).

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: ZHENG, Y. ET AL., NATURE 463, 640 (2010).

Water freezes at 0 ºC… or perhaps not? Pure water can remain in liquid form at temperatures down to

–40 ºC, which is known as a “supercoo-led” state. When agitated by stirring or adding impurities, supercooled water freezes instantly. A team of scientists report that under certain conditi-ons, supercooled water freezes when warmed up (!). Supercooled water can freeze at a higher temperature on a positively-charged surface than it does on a negatively-charged one. Initially, the surface is negatively charged at a

lower temperature. The surface becomes positively charged when warmed up and the supercooled liquid water solidifies. Will the day ever come when we will be able to understand the water molecule completely? This is something we just don’t know. What we know for certain though is that water, which is apparently the “most normal” substance around us, has already proven itself ironically as one of the most unusual ones in nature. We take this familiar molecule for gran-ted within our daily routine, but H2O—or water as we know it—still remains a celebrity in the eyes of scientists.

Even though spiders may not be the most appealing creatures living on earth, they are one of the most intriguing predators

in the animal kingdom. For centuries the intricate ways that spiders hunt, their (relatively) enormous appetite, their strong senses and extraordinary craftsmanship have been fascinating research topics for scientists. In this study, researchers wondered why and how spider webs become decorated with pearl-like drops of water in humid weather conditions. At nanometric scales, the group revealed that the fibers which constitute the web of Uloborus Walkcenaerius—a non-venomous spider—change conformations after interacting with water. When the web becomes wet the fibers condense into knot-like structures which are distri-buted evenly along the entire silk. The geometric structure of the web results in surface-energy gradients that drive water particles towards the knots. Con-centrating water molecules at the knots may help to keep the rest of the web dry, which is a necessary factor to capture prey. This extraordinary finding has ins-pired the building of an artificial spider silk, which exploits the same geometric trick, trapping and transporting water droplets. In the near future, such “gre-en” materials could be used in a wide variety of applications, such as filtering substances out of chemical reactions without need for a catalyst.

66

A MAGAZINE OF SCIENTIFIC AND SPIRITUAL THOUGHT

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All of us are travelers, and the world is a multicolored exhibition and a rich

and colorful book. We were sent to study this book, to increase our spiritual

knowledge, and to uplift others. This colorful and pleasurable journey is

a one-time event. For those whose feelings are alert and whose hearts are

awake, this journey is more than enough to establish a Paradise-like garden.

But for those whose eyes are covered, it is as if all goes by in a single breath.

fountain 74

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