329)Our Sun is a WILD place-doing all kinds of ablutions, looking like a Picasso painting, having a bad hair day, or just scintillating radiantly....

1) http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040802.html

2) http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021114.html

3) http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040725.html

4) http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971120.html

5) http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap051109.html

6) http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap061204.html

7) http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060807.html

8) http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000403.html

9) http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990923.html

10) http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010301.html

11) http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010924.html

12) http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060710.html

13) http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060611.html

14) http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070402.html

15) http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap071106.html

16) http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980601.html

17) http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970107.html

18) http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap031122.html

19) http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060407.html

20) http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060331.html

21) http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021206.html

22) http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050407.html

23) http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070303.html

24) http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap051005.html

25) http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030530.html



"Islamic doctrine goes further than the other great religions, for it proclaims the presence of the soul, perhaps minute but nevertheless existing in an embryonic state, in all existence in matter, in animals, trees, and space itself. Every individual, every molecule, every atom has its own spiritual relationship with the All-Powerful Soul of God"(Memoirs of Aga Khan III, 1954)

Imam Hassan has explained the Islamic doctrine of God and the Universe by analogy with the sun and its reflection in the pool of a fountain; there is certainly a reflection or image of the sun, but with what poverty and with what little reality; how small and pale is the likeness between this impalpable image and the immense, blazing, white-hot glory of the celestial sphere itself. Allah is the sun; and the Universe, as we know it in all its magnitude, and time, with its power, are nothing more than the reflection of the Absolute in the mirror of the fountain"(Memoirs of Aga Khan III, 1954)

"Islam is fundamentally in its very nature a natural religion. Throughout the Quran God's signs (Ayats) are referred to as the natural phenomenon, the law and order of the universe, the exactitudes and consequences of the relations between natural phenomenon in cause and effect. Over and over, the stars, sun, moon, earthquakes, fruits of the earth and trees are mentioned as the signs of divine power, divine law and divine order(Aga Khan III, April 4th 1952, from "What have we forgotten in Islam?")

"In fact this world is a book in which you see inscribed the writings of God the Almighty"(Nasir Khusraw, 11th century Ismaili cosmologist-philosopher-poet)

"......The Quran tells us that signs of Allah’s Sovereignty are found in the contemplation of His Creation - in the heavens and the earth, the night and the day, the clouds and the seas, the winds and the waters...."(Aga Khan IV, Kampala, Uganda, August 22 2007)

"In this context, would it not also be relevant to consider how, above all, it has been the Qur'anic notion of the universe as an expression of Allah's will and creation that has inspired, in diverse Muslim communities, generations of artists, scientists and philosophers? Scientific pursuits, philosophic inquiry and artistic endeavour are all seen as the response of the faithful to the recurring call of the Qur'an to ponder the creation as a way to understand Allah's benevolent majesty. As Sura al-Baqara proclaims: 'Wherever you turn, there is the face of Allah'.The famous verse of 'light' in the Qur'an, the Ayat al-Nur, whose first line is rendered here in the mural behind me, inspires among Muslims a reflection on the sacred, the transcendent. It hints at a cosmos full of signs and symbols that evoke the perfection of Allah's creation and mercy"(Aga Khan IV,Speech, 2003, London, U.K.)

"The Quran very often refers to nature as a reflection of Allah's power of creation and says: Look at the mountains, look at the rivers, look at the trees, look at the flowers all as evidence of Allah's love for the people whom He has created. Today I look at this environment and I say that I beleive that Allah is smiling upon you, may His smile always be upon you"(Aga Khan IV, Tajikistan, May 27th 1995)

"Discovery of knowledge was seen by those founders(Fatimids) as an embodiment of religious faith, and faith as reinforced by knowledge of workings of the Creator's physical world"(Aga Khan IV, 27th May1994, Cambridge, Massachusets, U.S.A.)

“Muslims believe in an all-encompassing unit of man and nature. To them there is no fundamental division between the spiritual and the material while the whole world, whether it be the earth, sea or air, or the living creatures that inhabit them, is an expression of God’s creation.”(Aga Khan IV, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA, 13 April 1984)

"Indeed, one strength of Islam has always lain in its belief that creation is not static but continuous, that through scientific and other endeavours, God has opened and continues to open new windows for us to see the marvels of His creation"(Aga Khan IV, AKU, 16 March 1983, Karachi, Pakistan)

"God has given us the miracle of life with all its attributes: the extraordinary manifestations of sunrise and sunset, of sickness and recovery, of birth and death, but surely if He has given us the means with which to remove ourselves from this world so as to go to other parts of the Universe, we can but accept as further manifestations the creation and destructions of stars, the birth and death of atomic particles, the flighting new sound and light waves. I am afraid that the torch of intellectual discovery, the attraction of the unknown, the desire for intellectual self-perfection have left us"(Aga Khan IV,Speech, 1963, Mindanao, Phillipines)



Easy Nash aka easynash

The Qur'an itself repeatedly recommends Muslims to become better educated in order better to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
The Quran tells us that signs of Allah's Sovereignty are found in the contemplation of His Creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
This notion of the capacity of the human intellect to understand and to admire the creation of Allah will bring you happiness in your everyday lives: Aga Khan IV(2007)
Islam, eminently logical, placing the greatest emphasis on knowledge, purports to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2006)