43)Sir Isaac Newton: Man of Science and Religion.
Interesting article on the life of this great scientist, who was deeply religious as well and was able to link his discoveries to his religion. The one key difference between his view and the Islamic view(as propounded by our 48th Imam in his 'Memoirs') was that, in Newton's view, the universe was static whereas in the Islamic view, it is dynamic and constantly changing and that every subatomic particle in the cosmos has its own individual spiritual relationship with the Universal Soul. Scientific evidence gathered subsequent to the life of Isaac Newton has shown that the Islamic concept of a dynamic creation is the correct one:
Newton and Enlightened Science
by Professor Alan Charles Kors
Isaac Newton entered Trinity College in Cambridge University in 1661. Every other college at Cambridge was dominated by the Aristotelian Scholastics, but Trinity College, Cambridge, was the one college in the university that was a Cartesian stronghold. That had a profound influence on the education of Isaac Newton because he was introduced to Descartes as an undergraduate, to Descartes's mathematics, in particular. Descartes had founded analytic geometry, which made extraordinarily easier the sorts of calculations in which Kepler had engaged. Newton, then, early on was a student both of Descartes's mechanical philosophy and of higher mathematics.
Shortly after receiving his bachelor's degree at Cambridge, Newton had to abandon the university because of the plague, which emptied the university as people went to their various homes. Newton spent 18 months in the countryside at Woolsthorpe, an unparalleled 18 months in the history of human thought, during which time he did nothing less than alter the history of the world.
What were the accomplishments of Newton's 18 months in Woolsthorpe following the receipt of his bachelor's degree? One, he was thinking about the problem of astronomy, the orbit of the moon, what kept it in that orbit, when, in fact (I am pleased to report, for such stories rarely are true) an apple did fall as he was sitting thinking about astronomy in the field. Newton began to speculate on what would be the nature of a force that accounted at one and the same time for the moon maintaining an orbit around the Earth without falling, coming closer, and the apple falling from the tree toward the center of the Earth. Assuming that that was the same force, what would that force be, and what could it account for?
He worked his way to the view that there was a force that varied directly according to two masses anywhere in the universe and that varied inversely according to the square of the distance between them. To work out his calculation in terms of the Earth and the moon and the solar system, he needed a precise, accurate account of the circumference of the Earth, but he didn't have his books with him and he put down the wrong figure, and as he related it, he very nearly had solved the problem. In fact, he had arrived at the law of gravity but did not know himself to have done so, and, quite typical of Isaac Newton, when he returned to the university, he put those papers in a drawer and forgot about them for 20 years. He was someone who often forgot to take meals unless reminded.
In order to work out that theory of a force of gravity, Newton had to arrive at an understanding of the essential laws of mechanics that governed matter in motion, the nature of velocity and time and acceleration, the nature of inertia—which he now articulated as linear inertia, that matter unless acted upon by another force, if moving in a straight line continued in a straight line, if at rest remained at rest—and, his third law of motion, that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. So Newton had discovered the law of gravity and laid the foundation, with his three laws of motion, for the future of Western physics.
In order to deal with the multiple variables of time, motion, mass, and distance, the analytic geometry was insufficient, so Newton also created the infinitesimal calculus, and, interested in finding things to fill his mind during the 18 months, he began experimenting with a prism on the nature of light, and, with his experimental discovery of the composition of light, laid the foundation of modern optics, the science of light. He also did work that changed the nature of mathematical understanding of numerical series.
So, in 18 months in the countryside, in his early 20s, Isaac Newton had discovered the law of gravity, laid the foundation of modern physics with his three laws of mechanics, created the infinitesimal calculus, founded the science of modern optics, and advanced the frontiers of mathematical understanding. When he returned to Oxford, he spoke about this work to almost no one, and, in fact, it was almost by chance that he showed his work on the calculus to his professor, Isaac Barrow, who held the leading chair in mathematics in Great Britain and who, seeing Newton's work, immediately resigned his chair in favor of his young student—probably the last time that that ever will happen in the history of higher education.
Nearly 20 years later, in 1684, a group of scientific minds, Edmund Halley, Sir Christopher Wren, and Robert Hooke, were discussing the problem of gravity in a coffeehouse in London, and they were trying to come to terms with what Newton had been thinking about some 20 years before—the problem of falling objects, the orbits of the planets, and the problem bequeathed by Huygens's work on the pendulum, which is extremely interesting in light of Newton's formula of inertia as linear, that motion occurs in a straight line unless acted upon by another force. All Western science agreed, from the Greeks through the 17th century, that the circle was a natural inertial motion that seemed to make sense of the heavenly bodies and their motions and, indeed, of so much of the world.
Huygens's work on the pendulum is on centrifugal force, the swinging globe. If you swing a globe attached to a chain or string around your head and get it going in a perfect circle and then let go, it doesn't continue moving in a perfect circle; it flies off in linear motion. Newton, indeed, had been working on the problem of the orbit of the moon and of the planets as looking for a force that acted as the chain did for the swinging ball. What would be the force that could alter, acting upon linear inertial motion, the movement of a planet into an orbit?
Well, Wren and Halley and Hooke are thinking on this same problem but find the mathematics far too difficult for them, and they've heard that there is a great mathematician at Cambridge, Isaac Newton. They send Edmund Halley down, and Halley asks Newton, "What do you think would happen to the orbits of the planets and the moon if there were a force that acted upon them according to the two masses and in inverse proportion to the square of the distances between them?" which is what the data suggested but what they could not prove, and Newton immediately said, "They would be elliptical orbits as described by Kepler," and Halley said, "How do you know that?" and Newton said, "Oh, I pretty nearly worked it out some 20 years ago," and Halley said, "Where are the papers?" and Newton began rummaging through drawers.
When he found it, and Halley saw that Newton had plugged in a wrong figure for the circumference of the Earth, and that with the right figure everything in the cosmos fell into place, Halley was beside himself, and at his own expense and at his urging, he led Newton to develop his general system of the laws of motion and the law of universal gravitation, and these were published in 1687 as the Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, the Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, better known simply as the Principia. The work was published in Latin. The work had mathematics of a difficulty that almost no one in England or on the continent could understand, and yet the work was an absolute watershed in the history of science and, indeed, in the history of our culture.
Newton's Principia was a mathematical demonstration of the Copernican hypothesis as proposed by Kepler. I had said that Galileo rejected Kepler's laws of planetary motion because they had not been demonstrated. One might say they don't get demonstrated until the space program, and, based on calculations from Keplerian models, things actually do land upon the moon, but, in another sense, it is Newton's Principia that offers the scientific demonstration of Kepler's laws and the Copernican model. Assume the law of gravity, that there is a force that is equal to mass, one times mass two, divided by the square of the distance between those masses, and assume linear inertia, and the Copernican solar system precisely as described by Kepler's laws of planetary motion follows. And that theory not only predicts the very universe that is open to our experimental gaze, but it predicts as well the behavior of tides, the reappearance of comets; in short, huge ranges of phenomena that had seemed inexplicable to the human mind.
Readers of the Principia who could not follow its demonstrations could read its predictions, could learn that those predictions held and were experimentally confirmed. Readers of the Principia could see Newton's demonstration of why all other physical systems that had been proposed, including Descartes's, would lead one to a different universe than we observed, and they were convinced by popularizers, by the word of experts, and by the drama of predictions that came true about data, that Newton accurately had described the world and the forces that governed that world, and that, for the first time, the human mind understood the system of the world in which it found itself, which means that Newton also convinced a culture that the world was ordered and lucid and knowable, that the human mind was capable of understanding the architecture and design of God in creation by means of a quantitative physical science.
The role of Newton's predictions in convincing even those who could not understand his work led to a moment of cultural scientific enthusiasm the likes of which we rarely see. Edmund Halley, a sober astronomer, penned an ode as a preface to Newton's Principia that concluded, "Nearer the Gods, no mortal may approach." Alexander Pope, the great British poet, penned Newton's epitaph, still visible in Westminster Abbey. It said, "Nature and nature's laws lay hid in night; God said, 'Let Newton be,' and all was light." A hundred years later, Napoleon asked his great court astronomer if there ever would be another Newton. He answered, "No, sire, for there was only one universe to be discovered."
But not all who read Newton were impressed, and one of the most illuminating and most influential debates in the history of Western thought is that between the Newtonians and the Cartesians. The Cartesians, recall, had wanted to strip the Aristotelian universe of what they saw as its magic, its superstitious explanations, and substitute a mechanistic explanation in which we understood all problems of physics as problems of the communication of force by matter in motion to matter in motion.
For the Cartesians, the only way that force could be communicated from one part of matter to another part of matter was by direct contact. Think of a billiard table: You walk in, in the midst of a highly complicated shot on a pool table, and you infer, because there is no magic, what ball struck what balls, going from the original cue shot and the cue ball striking a ball—God's original cue shot being the one of interest there—that then produced the universe of matter in motion that we observed. For the Cartesians, the Newtonian explanation of gravity as action at a distance, two masses with nothing between them affecting each other with gravitational pull, sounded like the Aristotelians and their secret, or occult, forces in nature.
When Cartesian-type mechanists made fun of the Aristotelians, they did so in the following manner. In Moliere's Le Medecin Malgre Lui, there is a scene at the Aristotelian School of Medicine where the doctoral candidate in medicine is asked, "Why does opium put one to sleep?" and he answers, "Because of its dormitive power," and they all go, "Learned, learned, learned." That's what this sounded like to the Cartesians. Why do the planets hold their orbits? Because of their gravitational power. In the Cartesian universe, everything is a problem of fluid mechanics. They are certain that, between all the planets and the Earth and the moon, there is a fluid, and we are dealing with whirlpools of motion that can be understood in terms of the direct communication of force by matter to matter. Action at a distance seems to them a return to occult forces.
Originally Newton wanted an explanation of how gravity could operate, of how that force could be communicated. Was it magnetism, for example? But, unable to derive gravity from anything else, Newton made a virtue out of a necessity, explaining that natural philosophy science can only demonstrate that a certain force operates in the world, not why or how. For the Cartesians, an explanation of how the world operates should account for how the world got to be this way in the first place. For the Newtonians, this was the universe that God created, and these were the laws that governed it, and it could be demonstrated that these were the laws.
Science, Newton believed, should not make things up; it should admit ignorance when it does not have data—an argument that John Locke will build deeply into his own theory of knowledge—that, absent experimental data, one admits ignorance. But Newton also loved the fact of the universe that he had discovered, for he was a deeply religious man, and he was appalled by the Cartesian notion that God created a universe of fixed mechanical laws, that God had to proceed in this way, that God's will necessitated inertial motion in the world.
For Newton, the system of the world was a demonstration of God's omnipotence and freedom in contrast to the necessity under which Descartes's God labored, having to do things this way or that to be rational and perfect. For Newton, the universe was comprehensible. Why these laws were the laws that God had chosen—that was known to God alone, and science did not penetrate beyond experience and knowledge of how nature operated and what laws governed it to why that should be the case.
Newton, indeed, wrote more about scripture and religious chronology than he did about physics and astronomy. He was a deeply religious man, what we now would call a Unitarian, however, very unorthodox in his Christianity, but found a powerful side of his science to be its demonstration of God's omnipotence and freedom and wisdom. For Newton, the design of the universe proved the existence of God. He reasoned, if matter had been placed in any other way in the world, at different velocities there would be a gravitational collapse of all matter, but he assumed a static universe such as we observed it and saw the placement and velocities chosen by God to have avoided a gravitational collapse, showing us a proof of God's design and existence.
But Newton's greatest legacy to his civilization is that which Alexander Pope understood, a sense that all could be order and clarity and light. Newton, by the success of his method, bequeathed a great confidence in the method by which he had reached his conclusions: observation, induction, the mathematization of motion, quantitative—not qualitative—knowledge, predictive value, and experiment. God did not intend us for ignorance. We now had a method by which to use our minds, and, for so many in Europe, this was a model that now could be extended to the whole of natural knowledge.
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)
Thursday, January 10, 2008
282)No. 7: Ayats(Signs) in the Universe series. How are proteins made inside living cells and what does this have to do with religion?
127)No. 7: Ayats(Signs) in the Universe series. How are proteins made inside living cells and what does this have to do with religion?
I have always been fascinated by proteins. Commonly called the workhorses of living cells, proteins exist and operate in every nook and cranny of living systems. Amazingly, the function of a protein is totally determined by its 3-dimensional shape and orientation in space. This 3-dimensional shape of a protein, in turn, is determined totally by the precise sequence of amino acids, the building blocks of a protein, that make up the protein. The unique set of electrostatic forces engendered by the unique sequence of amino acids making up a protein determine the ultimate shape and 3-dimensional structure of the protein. How does this precisely-determined linear sequence of amino acids come about?
It turns out that the sequence of amino acids that makes up a protein is determined from a coded sequence of information in a master molecule called DNA, the molecule of heredity. Linear sequences of code, themselves made up of unique molecules within the DNA macromolecule, which resides inside the nucleus of a living cell, are copied onto a molecule called messenger RNA, which then travels from the nucleus into the main part or cytoplasm of the cell. There it links up with a large molecular complex called a ribosome. Another type of RNA molecule, called transfer RNA, of which there are about 21 or so types, each ready and attached to its own specific amino acid, are then summoned to the messenger RNA-ribosome complex, and deposit their amino acids based solely on the coded information given to the single-stranded messenger RNA molecule by the DNA master molecule in the nucleus. This process is all the more remarkable by virtue of the fact that it is a submicroscopic process and therefore invisible to the naked eye. In a previous blog(no. 29 on my blogsite) I opined in mind-boggling fascination about how an entity as small as a living cell could have so many moving parts.
That proteins are called workhorses is no exaggeration. The sequence of protein synthesis as described above occurs ubiquitously in every type of cell in the human body, animals, plants and microorganisms like bacteria, but not in viruses. As I showed in blogpost no. 41 in talking about the HIV/AIDS virus, viruses have the genetic information to make more of themselves but lack the cellular machinery to carry out the process. They instead behave like pirates, breaking and entering into a human or other cell, commandeering its cellular apparatus to create more copies of themselves, then killing the hapless cell they just abused. As far as workhorsing goes, if a protein is made inside a stem red blood cell in the bone marrow, it becomes a hemoglobin molecule. 4 chains of these protein molecules link up with an iron atom in the center and this rapidly-moving bloodstream protein complex seizes oxygen from the air at an interface in the lungs and rapidly releases it to tissues all over the body, then takes carbon dioxide from the tissues back to the lungs to release into the air, then repeats the sequence. A protein from another blood stem cell becomes an antibody whose amino acid sequence creates a pincer-shaped molecule capable of neutralizing an invading bacteria, virus or other microorganism. Another protein, called an enzyme, made in a liver cell, can create or break down cholesterol molecules: how well it does this can determine whether or not we need to take the famous 'statin' tablets to lower our blood cholesterol. Other proteins like those made in the skin cells of our scalps end up being the hair we have on our heads; proteins and RNA made in brain cells are involved in creating and storing our memories; a structural protein can straddle the inside and outside of a cell membrane and serve a transportation function, where it pumps certain atoms or ions into and out of cells as part of their daily critical life processes. There are numerous and fascinating examples of the multiple functions that proteins perform. It is safe to say that life can absolutely not exist without proteins.
In putting an Ismaili Muslim spin on this crucial ayat or sign in nature I am reminded about the many rites and ceremonies carried out in Jamatkhana. Every one of these has a symbolic significance when performed, whether it is the sipping of holy water('niaz') or the eating of a morsel of substance prepared from specific ingredients('sukreet'), or the auctioning off of a food offering('nandi'). Likewise in the big Jamatkhana of the Universe, every object, event, ayat or sign has a symbolic significance as we have been told in farmans by our Imams, in ginans by our Pirs and in treatises by our cosmologist-philosopher-theologians of yesteryear. What, then, to make of the ubiquitous and enthralling ayat of protein synthesis?
A protein made up of a specific amino acid sequence initially lies flat on its back. Electrostatic forces then come into play and suddenly, like a phoenix, the protein stands up and assumes a unique 3-dimensional shape and structure based on its amino acid sequence. The protein as it stands represents microcosmically the multidimensional universe in which we live, move and have our being. We know and understand for sure that the protein is shaped the way it is only because of the unique sequence of its amino acid structure. However, in order to truly understand the protein, we have to look at the master molecule of DNA that exists at the geographical center(literally) of that protein's universe, the molecule solely responsible for giving that protein its structure and, therefore, its function. The master DNA macromolecule is, in a very real way, the celestial essence of that mutidimensional protein. In order to truly understand and gain knowledge about that protein, we need to search for, and find, its essence.
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)
I have always been fascinated by proteins. Commonly called the workhorses of living cells, proteins exist and operate in every nook and cranny of living systems. Amazingly, the function of a protein is totally determined by its 3-dimensional shape and orientation in space. This 3-dimensional shape of a protein, in turn, is determined totally by the precise sequence of amino acids, the building blocks of a protein, that make up the protein. The unique set of electrostatic forces engendered by the unique sequence of amino acids making up a protein determine the ultimate shape and 3-dimensional structure of the protein. How does this precisely-determined linear sequence of amino acids come about?
It turns out that the sequence of amino acids that makes up a protein is determined from a coded sequence of information in a master molecule called DNA, the molecule of heredity. Linear sequences of code, themselves made up of unique molecules within the DNA macromolecule, which resides inside the nucleus of a living cell, are copied onto a molecule called messenger RNA, which then travels from the nucleus into the main part or cytoplasm of the cell. There it links up with a large molecular complex called a ribosome. Another type of RNA molecule, called transfer RNA, of which there are about 21 or so types, each ready and attached to its own specific amino acid, are then summoned to the messenger RNA-ribosome complex, and deposit their amino acids based solely on the coded information given to the single-stranded messenger RNA molecule by the DNA master molecule in the nucleus. This process is all the more remarkable by virtue of the fact that it is a submicroscopic process and therefore invisible to the naked eye. In a previous blog(no. 29 on my blogsite) I opined in mind-boggling fascination about how an entity as small as a living cell could have so many moving parts.
That proteins are called workhorses is no exaggeration. The sequence of protein synthesis as described above occurs ubiquitously in every type of cell in the human body, animals, plants and microorganisms like bacteria, but not in viruses. As I showed in blogpost no. 41 in talking about the HIV/AIDS virus, viruses have the genetic information to make more of themselves but lack the cellular machinery to carry out the process. They instead behave like pirates, breaking and entering into a human or other cell, commandeering its cellular apparatus to create more copies of themselves, then killing the hapless cell they just abused. As far as workhorsing goes, if a protein is made inside a stem red blood cell in the bone marrow, it becomes a hemoglobin molecule. 4 chains of these protein molecules link up with an iron atom in the center and this rapidly-moving bloodstream protein complex seizes oxygen from the air at an interface in the lungs and rapidly releases it to tissues all over the body, then takes carbon dioxide from the tissues back to the lungs to release into the air, then repeats the sequence. A protein from another blood stem cell becomes an antibody whose amino acid sequence creates a pincer-shaped molecule capable of neutralizing an invading bacteria, virus or other microorganism. Another protein, called an enzyme, made in a liver cell, can create or break down cholesterol molecules: how well it does this can determine whether or not we need to take the famous 'statin' tablets to lower our blood cholesterol. Other proteins like those made in the skin cells of our scalps end up being the hair we have on our heads; proteins and RNA made in brain cells are involved in creating and storing our memories; a structural protein can straddle the inside and outside of a cell membrane and serve a transportation function, where it pumps certain atoms or ions into and out of cells as part of their daily critical life processes. There are numerous and fascinating examples of the multiple functions that proteins perform. It is safe to say that life can absolutely not exist without proteins.
In putting an Ismaili Muslim spin on this crucial ayat or sign in nature I am reminded about the many rites and ceremonies carried out in Jamatkhana. Every one of these has a symbolic significance when performed, whether it is the sipping of holy water('niaz') or the eating of a morsel of substance prepared from specific ingredients('sukreet'), or the auctioning off of a food offering('nandi'). Likewise in the big Jamatkhana of the Universe, every object, event, ayat or sign has a symbolic significance as we have been told in farmans by our Imams, in ginans by our Pirs and in treatises by our cosmologist-philosopher-theologians of yesteryear. What, then, to make of the ubiquitous and enthralling ayat of protein synthesis?
A protein made up of a specific amino acid sequence initially lies flat on its back. Electrostatic forces then come into play and suddenly, like a phoenix, the protein stands up and assumes a unique 3-dimensional shape and structure based on its amino acid sequence. The protein as it stands represents microcosmically the multidimensional universe in which we live, move and have our being. We know and understand for sure that the protein is shaped the way it is only because of the unique sequence of its amino acid structure. However, in order to truly understand the protein, we have to look at the master molecule of DNA that exists at the geographical center(literally) of that protein's universe, the molecule solely responsible for giving that protein its structure and, therefore, its function. The master DNA macromolecule is, in a very real way, the celestial essence of that mutidimensional protein. In order to truly understand and gain knowledge about that protein, we need to search for, and find, its essence.
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)
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
281)A sampling of the most recent comments I made and articles I published on the main Ismaili Mail website as well as its Spirit and Life Blog:
http://spiritandlife.wordpress.com/2007/10/12/inseparable-nature-of-faith-and-world/#comment-155
http://spiritandlife.wordpress.com/2007/11/05/a-cosmos-full-of-signs-and-symbols-that-evoke-the-perfection-of-allahs-creation-and-mercy/
http://spiritandlife.wordpress.com/2008/01/04/ibn-al-haytham/
http://spiritandlife.wordpress.com/2007/12/31/abu-yakub-al-sijistani-intellectual-missionary/
http://spiritandlife.wordpress.com/2007/12/25/ikhwan-al-safa/
http://spiritandlife.wordpress.com/2007/12/17/the-creation-according-to-quran-updated/
http://spiritandlife.wordpress.com/2007/12/10/shia-islam/
http://spiritandlife.wordpress.com/2007/12/01/islam’s-ethics-establish-an-inextricable-link-between-spiritual-and-material-life/#comments
http://spiritandlife.wordpress.com/2007/11/25/the-assassin-legends-myths-of-the-ismailis/
http://spiritandlife.wordpress.com/2007/11/25/the-assassin-legends-myths-of-the-ismailis/
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2008/01/07/1962-clip-of-prince-karim-aga-khan/
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2008/01/04/the-aga-khan-–-a-voice-of-reason-documentary-canadian-premiere/
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2008/01/04/aga-khan-iii-founder-pro-chancellor-aligarh-muslim-university/
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2008/01/02/the-battle-for-“enlightenedâ€-islam/
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2007/12/28/muslim-high-schoolers-win-the-2007-siemens-regional-award-in-math-science-and-technology/
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2007/12/28/calgarys-salgirah-birthday-celebration-of-his-highness-the-aga-khan/
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2007/12/26/kilimanjaro-challenge-2007/
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2007/12/25/article-in-calgary-sun-rahim-moloo/
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2007/12/22/our-list-of-websites-blogs/
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2007/12/20/portraits-by-guljee-aga-khan/
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2007/12/19/guljee/
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)
http://spiritandlife.wordpress.com/2007/11/05/a-cosmos-full-of-signs-and-symbols-that-evoke-the-perfection-of-allahs-creation-and-mercy/
http://spiritandlife.wordpress.com/2008/01/04/ibn-al-haytham/
http://spiritandlife.wordpress.com/2007/12/31/abu-yakub-al-sijistani-intellectual-missionary/
http://spiritandlife.wordpress.com/2007/12/25/ikhwan-al-safa/
http://spiritandlife.wordpress.com/2007/12/17/the-creation-according-to-quran-updated/
http://spiritandlife.wordpress.com/2007/12/10/shia-islam/
http://spiritandlife.wordpress.com/2007/12/01/islam’s-ethics-establish-an-inextricable-link-between-spiritual-and-material-life/#comments
http://spiritandlife.wordpress.com/2007/11/25/the-assassin-legends-myths-of-the-ismailis/
http://spiritandlife.wordpress.com/2007/11/25/the-assassin-legends-myths-of-the-ismailis/
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2008/01/07/1962-clip-of-prince-karim-aga-khan/
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2008/01/04/the-aga-khan-–-a-voice-of-reason-documentary-canadian-premiere/
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2008/01/04/aga-khan-iii-founder-pro-chancellor-aligarh-muslim-university/
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2008/01/02/the-battle-for-“enlightenedâ€-islam/
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2007/12/28/muslim-high-schoolers-win-the-2007-siemens-regional-award-in-math-science-and-technology/
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2007/12/28/calgarys-salgirah-birthday-celebration-of-his-highness-the-aga-khan/
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2007/12/26/kilimanjaro-challenge-2007/
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2007/12/25/article-in-calgary-sun-rahim-moloo/
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2007/12/22/our-list-of-websites-blogs/
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2007/12/20/portraits-by-guljee-aga-khan/
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2007/12/19/guljee/
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)
280)No.6, 'Ayats'(Signs) in the Universe series. HIV/AIDS: Marvel of creation, foe of man.
41)No.6, 'Ayats'(Signs) in the Universe series. HIV/AIDS: Marvel of creation, foe of man.
Ayats(Signs) in the Universe series, no. 6HIV/AIDS: marvel of creation, foe of man.
August 2006. The upcoming world conference on HIV/Aids to be held in Toronto in a few days and attended by 26000 scientists has induced me to change the topic of item number 6 in my 'Ayats(Signs) in the Universe series' from one about life in strange places on earth to one about the molecular and cellular life cycle of the HIV/Aids virus and the sleuthing game scientists play trying to slow and shut it down. In order to even begin the process of taming this virus, we first had to delineate in excruciating detail the sequential unfolding of its activity from the time it tries to enter a human cell to the time a newly made virus leaves the cell in droves to infect other human cells. An essential part of this unfolding involved knowing the exact structure of this virus from the inside out(its morphology). Knowing the steps the virus takes from start to finish enables scientists to propose places in this sequence where one can block the virus's relentless and single-minded purpose which, from the virus's point of view, is to commandeer the human cell's apparatus and use it to produce many new viruses in its quest to propagate in a hostile world.
A virus is not a living organism like a bacteria or a human cell are. It is essentially a piece of genetic material around which is wrapped a few proteins that make up and stick out of its outer protective coat. It has no other organelles with which to produce energy or make and store essential molecules like sugars, proteins, fats and others.The only way a virus can propagate itself and its genetic material is to take over an autonomous living cell and use the cell's machinery to make new and more virus particles.
In his 'Memoirs', our 48th Imam made the following statement: "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."
I wonder what the All-Powerful Soul of God had in mind in its great design of the universe when it created viruses. Viruses are not living organisms by the conventional definition of a living organism but they are ubiquitous in nature and can lay dormant for decades, even centuries, before they occasionaly make their virulent appearance. Could it be that dietary prohibitions in those other great Ayats(Signs), the Religious Scriptures, are to be taken seriously because they come from the same source of Wisdom that fashioned the 'Ayats'(Signs) of the Universe in the first place?
Carolyn Abraham of the Globe and Mail says:
"The closest ancestor of the AIDS virus lived in West Africa's chimpanzees for thousands of years, and chimps have long been on the menu of human hunters in that corner of the world.
Our guess would be that these viruses have been jumping from chimps into humans on countless occasions in the past," said Paul Sharp of the University of Nottingham, a leading expert on HIV's evolution. "But most of them don't make it to be an epidemic. In fact, until recently, none of them had made it out of rural areas or infected enough people to be noticed.
HIV is believed to have been killing people in Africa for roughly 50 years before the world knew the virus existed. Yet scientists have since discovered the pandemic virus was one of three types of HIV that jumped to humans around the same time. But due to a fateful confluence of events and genetic accidents, only the one — HIV-1, group M — gave rise to the global scourge that continues to stump medical science."
HIV begins its infection of a susceptible host cell by binding to a protein receptor( called CD4 ) on the host cell. CD4 is present on the surface of many lymphocytes, which are a critical part of the body's immune system. Recent evidence indicates that a coreceptor is needed for HIV to enter the cell. This recognition of HIV coreceptors and progress in understanding how HIV fuses with the cell has opened up new possibilities for antiviral drugs. Medical science has seized on this possibility. A number of new agents are being designed to prevent infection by blocking fusion of HIV with its host cell.
Following fusion of the virus with the host cell, HIV enters the cell. The most usual way that genetic information travels inside a cell is that DNA information is copied or transcribed onto an RNA molecule, which then leaves the nucleus to go into the main part of the cell, where the RNA codes for proteins by a process called translation. This is called the central dogma. The HIV bucks the trend of the central dogma because its main genetic molecule is RNA, not DNA. The genetic material of the virus, which is RNA, is released and undergoes reverse transcription into DNA. An enzyme in HIV called reverse transcriptase is necessary to catalyze this conversion of viral RNA into DNA. Inhibitors of reverse transcriptase, such as AZT, were the first anti-HIV medications, and are still a critical part of treating patients who have HIV.
Once the genetic material of HIV has been changed into DNA, this viral DNA enters the host cell nucleus where it can be integrated into the genetic material of the cell. The enzyme integrase catalyzes this process, and inhibitors of integrase are under study as a new way to block HIV replication. Once the viral DNA is integrated into the genetic material of the host, it is possible that HIV may persist in a latent state for many years. This ability of HIV to persist in certain latently infected cells is the major barrier to eradication or cure of HIV. For this reason, based on our current knowledge, patients must remain on anti-viral therapy for life.
Activation of the host cells results in the transcription of viral DNA into messenger RNA (mRNA), which is then translated into viral proteins. The new viral RNA forms the genetic material of the next generation of viruses. The viral RNA and viral proteins assemble at the cell membrane into a new virus. Amongst the viral proteins is HIV protease, which is required to process other HIV proteins into their functional forms. Protease inhibitors, one of the most potent types of anti-viral medications, act by blocking this critical maturation step. Following assembly at the cell surface, the virus then buds forth from the cell and is released to infect another cell.
Unless the HIV lifecycle is interrupted by treatment, the virus infection spreads throughout the body and results in the destruction of the body's immune system. With current anti-viral medications, such as reverse transcriptase inhibitors and protease inhibitors, HIV infection can be contained. However, a great deal more must be achieved before AIDS epidemic is brought under control. One important immediate goal is to design new, more potent medications that are easier to take and have fewer side effects. However, the ultimate challenges are to use our understanding of the HIV lifecycle to develop medications that will eradicate HIV from people who are already infected and to create a vaccine that will prevent new infections in the future.
Current medical science, therefore, has created and is creating drugs that block the HIV lifecycle at certin key points. The first is before the virus even can enter the cell and blocks the binding of the virus to the essential co-receptor that allows the HIV to fuse with the cell membrane and get inside the cell. This drug is still under development. The second is to block the step where the enzyme called reverse transcriptase changes the viral RNA to DNA, allowing it to match the cell's DNA and intergrate with it. A drug called AZT, which was the first treatment ever developed for HIV in 1987, blocks this enzyme that promotes this reaction. The third is to block another enzyme, called intergrase, that allows the viral DNA to intergrate with the human DNA in the lymphocyte. This is a hot area of research and a Toronto researcher will announce this week a new drug he has developed that blocks the enzyme intergrase. The fourth and final is a viral protein called HIV protease, which processes the proteins in the newly made virus into their functional forms, allowing the virus to leave the cell and infect other cells. Drugs called protease inhibitors are already in use to prevent the virus from becoming fully functional as it prepares to leave the cell to create havoc elsewhere in the body. Currently, the mainstay of treatment of HIV infections are a cocktail of AZT and these protease inhibitors, which have taken HIV and turned it from a sure death sentence to one where the disease can be controlled, provided one can afford the expensive medication.
Article in today's Globe and Mail about the International AIDS Conference being held in Toronto this week. This article highlights the new drug, called an intergrase enzyme inhibitor, which blocks the advance of the virus by preventing the viral DNA from linking up and intergrating with the DNA in the human immune cell: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060814.AIDSDRUG14/TPStory/?query=Markowitz
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)
Ayats(Signs) in the Universe series, no. 6HIV/AIDS: marvel of creation, foe of man.
August 2006. The upcoming world conference on HIV/Aids to be held in Toronto in a few days and attended by 26000 scientists has induced me to change the topic of item number 6 in my 'Ayats(Signs) in the Universe series' from one about life in strange places on earth to one about the molecular and cellular life cycle of the HIV/Aids virus and the sleuthing game scientists play trying to slow and shut it down. In order to even begin the process of taming this virus, we first had to delineate in excruciating detail the sequential unfolding of its activity from the time it tries to enter a human cell to the time a newly made virus leaves the cell in droves to infect other human cells. An essential part of this unfolding involved knowing the exact structure of this virus from the inside out(its morphology). Knowing the steps the virus takes from start to finish enables scientists to propose places in this sequence where one can block the virus's relentless and single-minded purpose which, from the virus's point of view, is to commandeer the human cell's apparatus and use it to produce many new viruses in its quest to propagate in a hostile world.
A virus is not a living organism like a bacteria or a human cell are. It is essentially a piece of genetic material around which is wrapped a few proteins that make up and stick out of its outer protective coat. It has no other organelles with which to produce energy or make and store essential molecules like sugars, proteins, fats and others.The only way a virus can propagate itself and its genetic material is to take over an autonomous living cell and use the cell's machinery to make new and more virus particles.
In his 'Memoirs', our 48th Imam made the following statement: "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."
I wonder what the All-Powerful Soul of God had in mind in its great design of the universe when it created viruses. Viruses are not living organisms by the conventional definition of a living organism but they are ubiquitous in nature and can lay dormant for decades, even centuries, before they occasionaly make their virulent appearance. Could it be that dietary prohibitions in those other great Ayats(Signs), the Religious Scriptures, are to be taken seriously because they come from the same source of Wisdom that fashioned the 'Ayats'(Signs) of the Universe in the first place?
Carolyn Abraham of the Globe and Mail says:
"The closest ancestor of the AIDS virus lived in West Africa's chimpanzees for thousands of years, and chimps have long been on the menu of human hunters in that corner of the world.
Our guess would be that these viruses have been jumping from chimps into humans on countless occasions in the past," said Paul Sharp of the University of Nottingham, a leading expert on HIV's evolution. "But most of them don't make it to be an epidemic. In fact, until recently, none of them had made it out of rural areas or infected enough people to be noticed.
HIV is believed to have been killing people in Africa for roughly 50 years before the world knew the virus existed. Yet scientists have since discovered the pandemic virus was one of three types of HIV that jumped to humans around the same time. But due to a fateful confluence of events and genetic accidents, only the one — HIV-1, group M — gave rise to the global scourge that continues to stump medical science."
HIV begins its infection of a susceptible host cell by binding to a protein receptor( called CD4 ) on the host cell. CD4 is present on the surface of many lymphocytes, which are a critical part of the body's immune system. Recent evidence indicates that a coreceptor is needed for HIV to enter the cell. This recognition of HIV coreceptors and progress in understanding how HIV fuses with the cell has opened up new possibilities for antiviral drugs. Medical science has seized on this possibility. A number of new agents are being designed to prevent infection by blocking fusion of HIV with its host cell.
Following fusion of the virus with the host cell, HIV enters the cell. The most usual way that genetic information travels inside a cell is that DNA information is copied or transcribed onto an RNA molecule, which then leaves the nucleus to go into the main part of the cell, where the RNA codes for proteins by a process called translation. This is called the central dogma. The HIV bucks the trend of the central dogma because its main genetic molecule is RNA, not DNA. The genetic material of the virus, which is RNA, is released and undergoes reverse transcription into DNA. An enzyme in HIV called reverse transcriptase is necessary to catalyze this conversion of viral RNA into DNA. Inhibitors of reverse transcriptase, such as AZT, were the first anti-HIV medications, and are still a critical part of treating patients who have HIV.
Once the genetic material of HIV has been changed into DNA, this viral DNA enters the host cell nucleus where it can be integrated into the genetic material of the cell. The enzyme integrase catalyzes this process, and inhibitors of integrase are under study as a new way to block HIV replication. Once the viral DNA is integrated into the genetic material of the host, it is possible that HIV may persist in a latent state for many years. This ability of HIV to persist in certain latently infected cells is the major barrier to eradication or cure of HIV. For this reason, based on our current knowledge, patients must remain on anti-viral therapy for life.
Activation of the host cells results in the transcription of viral DNA into messenger RNA (mRNA), which is then translated into viral proteins. The new viral RNA forms the genetic material of the next generation of viruses. The viral RNA and viral proteins assemble at the cell membrane into a new virus. Amongst the viral proteins is HIV protease, which is required to process other HIV proteins into their functional forms. Protease inhibitors, one of the most potent types of anti-viral medications, act by blocking this critical maturation step. Following assembly at the cell surface, the virus then buds forth from the cell and is released to infect another cell.
Unless the HIV lifecycle is interrupted by treatment, the virus infection spreads throughout the body and results in the destruction of the body's immune system. With current anti-viral medications, such as reverse transcriptase inhibitors and protease inhibitors, HIV infection can be contained. However, a great deal more must be achieved before AIDS epidemic is brought under control. One important immediate goal is to design new, more potent medications that are easier to take and have fewer side effects. However, the ultimate challenges are to use our understanding of the HIV lifecycle to develop medications that will eradicate HIV from people who are already infected and to create a vaccine that will prevent new infections in the future.
Current medical science, therefore, has created and is creating drugs that block the HIV lifecycle at certin key points. The first is before the virus even can enter the cell and blocks the binding of the virus to the essential co-receptor that allows the HIV to fuse with the cell membrane and get inside the cell. This drug is still under development. The second is to block the step where the enzyme called reverse transcriptase changes the viral RNA to DNA, allowing it to match the cell's DNA and intergrate with it. A drug called AZT, which was the first treatment ever developed for HIV in 1987, blocks this enzyme that promotes this reaction. The third is to block another enzyme, called intergrase, that allows the viral DNA to intergrate with the human DNA in the lymphocyte. This is a hot area of research and a Toronto researcher will announce this week a new drug he has developed that blocks the enzyme intergrase. The fourth and final is a viral protein called HIV protease, which processes the proteins in the newly made virus into their functional forms, allowing the virus to leave the cell and infect other cells. Drugs called protease inhibitors are already in use to prevent the virus from becoming fully functional as it prepares to leave the cell to create havoc elsewhere in the body. Currently, the mainstay of treatment of HIV infections are a cocktail of AZT and these protease inhibitors, which have taken HIV and turned it from a sure death sentence to one where the disease can be controlled, provided one can afford the expensive medication.
Article in today's Globe and Mail about the International AIDS Conference being held in Toronto this week. This article highlights the new drug, called an intergrase enzyme inhibitor, which blocks the advance of the virus by preventing the viral DNA from linking up and intergrating with the DNA in the human immune cell: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060814.AIDSDRUG14/TPStory/?query=Markowitz
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)
279)No. 5, 'Ayats'(Signs) in the Universe series: Speeding angels; the relativity of time; everywhere and nowhere all at the same time.
39)No. 5, 'Ayats'(Signs) in the Universe series: Speeding angels; the relativity of time; everywhere and nowhere all at the same time.
Ayats(Signs) in the Universe series, no. 5Speeding angels; the relativity of time; everywhere and nowhere all at the same time.
Quran, Chapter70 verse 4: The angels and the spirit ascend to Him in a day, the measure of which is fifty thousand years.
Quran, Chapter 32, verses 5-6: He rules all affairs from the heavens to the earth. Then they all go back up to him in one day, whose measure is a thousand years by your reckoning...
July 2006. In the above Quranic verses, one interpretation of them is that angels are non-material created beings that are not bound by the rational laws of the material universe. What would take a material being 1000 or 50,000 years of time to travel to a particular location would take an angel a mere 1 day. This is a literal interpretation and I am sure that there are allegorical interpretations of these verses as well.
In the material universe, the fastest speed that anything can travel at is the speed of light, which is 300,000 kilometers per second. The sun is 150 million km from earth and thus it takes light from the sun 8.3 minutes to reach the earth. That is pretty fast but obviously non-material beings like angels travel much faster than the speed of light if one were to take the above verses literally.
The point is that if angels are created beings that do not follow the natural laws of the material universe, surely the Imam has the option of choosing whether to be bound by those material natural laws or not.
This brings me to the anecdote I quoted about the absoluteless of time. Time has been shown not to be the absolute phenomenon that people think it is. In fact, during the early 20th century(1905 to be exact), time was shown to be a relative dimension of the material universe. This was the basis of Albert Einstein's special theory of relativity, which showed that if a three-dimensional material object travels at speeds approaching the speed of light, time, which is the fourth dimension in that scenario, starts to dilate or slow down. Its a very difficult concept to undersatand but a simpler analogy might help: If we take two identical twins(of the same age obviously) and leave one twin on earth and send the other twin in a spaceship to a distant galaxy, then send the spaceship at speeds close to the speed of light, time will slow down and the twin in the spaceship will age slower than his brother on earth. If he later returns to earth, he will be younger than his identical twin. Time is therefore a relative phenomenon, it being part of Allah's creation, just like space.
The most elegant scientific proof of Einstein's special theory of relativity came with the use of radioactive nuclei of atoms. In these types of atoms, radioactive decay is very precise in terms of the loss of mass and the time for a radioactive atom to decay to half its mass(known as its half-life). That is why world time is kept according to atomic clocks. They are the most precise in measurement.
Scientists went to the top of a tall mountain and, through a specially designed tube, first sent radioactive nuclei shooting down the tube at speeds much less than the speed of light. When they collected the nuclei at the bottom, they found that the half-life of the radioactive atoms had not changed. However, when they shot the nuclei down the tube at speeds close to the speed of light, they found that the half-life of the radioactive nuclei were prolonged. Time had slowed down for these particular samples at close to the speed of light and so it took longer than expected for the mass of the sample to decay by half.
So, in the anecdote I quoted(elesewhere) where the Imam was clearly late by the clock for an important meeting, but, when he arrived at the meeting, he was perfectly on time, the relativity of time is part of the law of the rational, natural universe and one need not consider the anecdote necessarily a miracle outside that law.
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)
Ayats(Signs) in the Universe series, no. 5Speeding angels; the relativity of time; everywhere and nowhere all at the same time.
Quran, Chapter70 verse 4: The angels and the spirit ascend to Him in a day, the measure of which is fifty thousand years.
Quran, Chapter 32, verses 5-6: He rules all affairs from the heavens to the earth. Then they all go back up to him in one day, whose measure is a thousand years by your reckoning...
July 2006. In the above Quranic verses, one interpretation of them is that angels are non-material created beings that are not bound by the rational laws of the material universe. What would take a material being 1000 or 50,000 years of time to travel to a particular location would take an angel a mere 1 day. This is a literal interpretation and I am sure that there are allegorical interpretations of these verses as well.
In the material universe, the fastest speed that anything can travel at is the speed of light, which is 300,000 kilometers per second. The sun is 150 million km from earth and thus it takes light from the sun 8.3 minutes to reach the earth. That is pretty fast but obviously non-material beings like angels travel much faster than the speed of light if one were to take the above verses literally.
The point is that if angels are created beings that do not follow the natural laws of the material universe, surely the Imam has the option of choosing whether to be bound by those material natural laws or not.
This brings me to the anecdote I quoted about the absoluteless of time. Time has been shown not to be the absolute phenomenon that people think it is. In fact, during the early 20th century(1905 to be exact), time was shown to be a relative dimension of the material universe. This was the basis of Albert Einstein's special theory of relativity, which showed that if a three-dimensional material object travels at speeds approaching the speed of light, time, which is the fourth dimension in that scenario, starts to dilate or slow down. Its a very difficult concept to undersatand but a simpler analogy might help: If we take two identical twins(of the same age obviously) and leave one twin on earth and send the other twin in a spaceship to a distant galaxy, then send the spaceship at speeds close to the speed of light, time will slow down and the twin in the spaceship will age slower than his brother on earth. If he later returns to earth, he will be younger than his identical twin. Time is therefore a relative phenomenon, it being part of Allah's creation, just like space.
The most elegant scientific proof of Einstein's special theory of relativity came with the use of radioactive nuclei of atoms. In these types of atoms, radioactive decay is very precise in terms of the loss of mass and the time for a radioactive atom to decay to half its mass(known as its half-life). That is why world time is kept according to atomic clocks. They are the most precise in measurement.
Scientists went to the top of a tall mountain and, through a specially designed tube, first sent radioactive nuclei shooting down the tube at speeds much less than the speed of light. When they collected the nuclei at the bottom, they found that the half-life of the radioactive atoms had not changed. However, when they shot the nuclei down the tube at speeds close to the speed of light, they found that the half-life of the radioactive nuclei were prolonged. Time had slowed down for these particular samples at close to the speed of light and so it took longer than expected for the mass of the sample to decay by half.
So, in the anecdote I quoted(elesewhere) where the Imam was clearly late by the clock for an important meeting, but, when he arrived at the meeting, he was perfectly on time, the relativity of time is part of the law of the rational, natural universe and one need not consider the anecdote necessarily a miracle outside that law.
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)
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
278)No. 4, 'Ayats'(Signs) in the Universe series. Photosynthesis: Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth....
38)No. 4, 'Ayats'(Signs) in the Universe series. Photosynthesis: Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth....
Ayats(Signs) in the Universe series, no. 4Photosynthesis: Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth...:
I would like to reflect on an event in nature so seminal and so ubiquitous that most life could not exist on earth without it. We have seen that our Imams have equated verses of the Quran with objects and events in nature and referred to both of them equivalently as 'Ayats' or 'Signs'. We have also seen how cosmological doctrines developed by both Iranian and Arab Ismaili dais during the peri-Fatimid period have seamlessly connected science to religion: The material universe is part of the structure of truth, the ultimate nature of which it is the goal of religion to reach. In these doctrines, the function of the 'Asas' or 'Founder' is to extract tawil from the 'Ayats' of both the scriptures and nature, to strip away the 'zahir' and reveal the 'batin' to those interested in learning about such things. As a result, I think that it should be possible to look at an event in nature, the intricate details of which have been worked out using the scientific method, and, perhaps, search for deeper symbolisms as one observes the sequential unfolding of the event.
July 2006. This past weekend, in fact. I had found my muse and it was, once again, at my cottage in Ontario's bucolic lake district, the Muskokas. I was, like before, lying on a beach chair on the deck surveying a scintillating natural scene in front of me. It was a perfect weekend, though very different from the April weekend I described many posts ago. Then, there was a thin layer of ice on the lake and the trees and plants were just beginning to bud. Now was different. I was mesmerized by the verdant, lush scenery around me in which the soothing, tranquil colour of green was in abundance. The azure lake on this sunny day exuded an air of freshness around me. The gentle wind that moved the fluffy clouds and made the tree branches sway as if the maker of the universe was waving at me, caressed my face and all the nooks and crannies of my body covered by my t-shirt and boxer shorts. I have been going on and on in a number of earlier posts about the sun, its radiation and how I was going to post about an event in nature that is not only a sequential marvel for human intellect to behold but, IMHO, is an event from which symbolic and allegorical meaning can be extracted, reflecting more timeless truths. But, in order to do so, I needed to be in a place that inspired me to put the words which would describe this sequential 'Ayat' or 'Sign' in nature together in my mind. I beleive I found it in the forests and lakes of Central Ontario.
The event in nature I wish to discuss, called Photosynthesis, can be described as both an astronomical as well as a terrestrial event at one and the same time. It is the process in which radiant energy from the sun is captured by green plants and used to power a process that enables the plant cell to make food for itself and for other living beings like animals and humans. All light, whether from the sun or other natural sources, has been found, by the 500 year old tradition of western science spawned by the Rennaissance, to have both wave-like and particle-like properties. In its particle-like aspect light travels as a discrete packet of energy, called a quantum, and is known as a photon. This discrete photon or packet of light also has wave-like properties and can be described in terms of its wavelength and frequency. A plant cell has, evolved within it, an organelle called a chloroplast, which has abundant quantities of a molecule called chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is the substance that gives plants their soothing green colour. As sunlight beams down on the earth on a balmy day the specially designed chlorophyll molecules capture the photons of light energy in their energy-hungry double covalent bonds and, instantly, electrons in this chemical bond move upward into an unstable high energy state. Now, ordinarily, electrons in such a high energy state are not happy to stay that way so, if nothing else happens, these electrons will very quickly go back down to their original stable energy states and the energy they release on this downward journey is either released as another photon of light or is dissipated as heat. The chloroplast organelle has, however, designed a system that prevents this from happening. It bunches a large number of chlorophyll molecules together and, in this conglomeration, the highly energised electron gets rapidly shuttled around from one chlorophyll molecule to another, participating in a molecular dance, to prevent its energy from being dissipated uselessly. Embedded in this molecular system is also another molecule, called a primary electron acceptor, which eventually accepts the dancing electron. This acceptance takes the unstable energy of the excited electron and petrifies it by storing it in the much more stable chemical bond of the primary electron acceptor. From here the energy stored in that high energy electron can be harnessed in a much more controlled fashion and this process unfolds on one of the inner membranes of the chloroplast organelle inside the plant cell. The electron, now stored in a more stable chemical bond, travels down an electron transport chain, gradually releasing its energy into another set of molecules designed to store energy and which are specifically designed for the cell's metabolic apparatus to carry out the reactions that eventually produce food in the form of glucose. Once this new set of high energy molecules, called ATP and NADPH2 in scientific parlance, is formed, this marks the end of the so-called 'Light Reaction' of Photosynthesis. The 'Light Reaction' requires the presence of sunlight to drive it and the net result of this reaction is that electromagnetic radiation and energy caused by illumination from the sun is ingeniously caught and transformed into more stable energy trapped inside the chemical covalent bonds of different sets of energy-hungry molecules.
The next step in Photosynthesis is called the 'Dark Reaction', not because it occurs only in the dark, but because it does not need sunlight to drive it and occurs around the clock. This is the phase where the energy of the sun, now stored in the specific molecules ATP and NADPH2, enters a cycle, called the Calvin Cycle after a man named Calvin discovered it during the 1940s and for which he won the Nobel prize in 1961. In this cycle 3 molecules of low energy, highly oxidised carbon dioxide, which animals and humans release into the atmosphere during exhalation, are brought together with water, through the process of reduction, using the energy stored in those special molecules and with the help of enzymes, to form an extremely stable and high energy compound called G3P, a 3- carbon molecule. Oxygen is also released in this process. G3P can then go on to produce glucose, a 6-carbon molecule, and one which is again very stable and is used by animals and man as their source of energy to exist as living beings on the planet. This glucose is broken down by an organelle in animal and human cells called a mitochondrion into the same useable form called ATP, which is then used to power muscles and make the brain and other organs work as they should.
It is difficult to compute directly, but it appears to cost a chloroplast(in a plant cell) more energy to synthesize one glucose molecule than a mitochondrion (in a human cell) releases by disassembling it. More energy is thereore needed to put into the system than can be taken out of it. This shows clearly that the overall process is completely dependent on the sun and as long as the sun keeps shining, there is a limitless supply of energy for photosynthetic organisms to produce food in the form of organic(carbon-based) compounds.
The philosophical Ismailism that arose during the peri-Fatimid period was partially influenced by rational knowledge passed down from ancient Greece. Some of the terminology used in Neoplatonic philosophy, such as Universal Intellect and Universal Soul, while they were paired up with specific Ismaili concepts like Natiq and Asas to represent the structure of truth, nevertheless were themselves reflective of Quranic concepts. Hence the Universal Intellect is synonymous with Al-Sabiq, the Pen, or the Sun. The Universal Soul is synonymous with Al-Tali, the Tablet, or the Moon.
In the event of nature I described above, the sun in our universe drives the entire process by emitting its radiation onto green plants, which transforms this electromagnetic illumination into more stable and appropriate forms, which convert into nourishment, which then provides growth and development. Just as one can extract different layers of esoteric meaning from a Quranic verse(ayat or sign), one should also be able to extract different layers of symbolic meaning from an ayat or sign in nature since they are both thought to be equivalent in divine revelation. I see symbolism on two different levels in this ayat of nature. At a communal, institutional and population level the Imam takes the Noor or Light deep within himself and uses this illumination to nourish a disadvantaged and needy population and, in so doing, transforms it and causes growth and development, making it self-sufficient, prosperous and bountiful. On a more indidvidual level, the Imam once again takes the Noor or Light deep within himself and uses this illumination to nourish a needy human soul and, in so doing, transforms it and makes it grow and develop towards the timeless, instantaneous intellect that is the Noor.
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)
Ayats(Signs) in the Universe series, no. 4Photosynthesis: Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth...:
I would like to reflect on an event in nature so seminal and so ubiquitous that most life could not exist on earth without it. We have seen that our Imams have equated verses of the Quran with objects and events in nature and referred to both of them equivalently as 'Ayats' or 'Signs'. We have also seen how cosmological doctrines developed by both Iranian and Arab Ismaili dais during the peri-Fatimid period have seamlessly connected science to religion: The material universe is part of the structure of truth, the ultimate nature of which it is the goal of religion to reach. In these doctrines, the function of the 'Asas' or 'Founder' is to extract tawil from the 'Ayats' of both the scriptures and nature, to strip away the 'zahir' and reveal the 'batin' to those interested in learning about such things. As a result, I think that it should be possible to look at an event in nature, the intricate details of which have been worked out using the scientific method, and, perhaps, search for deeper symbolisms as one observes the sequential unfolding of the event.
July 2006. This past weekend, in fact. I had found my muse and it was, once again, at my cottage in Ontario's bucolic lake district, the Muskokas. I was, like before, lying on a beach chair on the deck surveying a scintillating natural scene in front of me. It was a perfect weekend, though very different from the April weekend I described many posts ago. Then, there was a thin layer of ice on the lake and the trees and plants were just beginning to bud. Now was different. I was mesmerized by the verdant, lush scenery around me in which the soothing, tranquil colour of green was in abundance. The azure lake on this sunny day exuded an air of freshness around me. The gentle wind that moved the fluffy clouds and made the tree branches sway as if the maker of the universe was waving at me, caressed my face and all the nooks and crannies of my body covered by my t-shirt and boxer shorts. I have been going on and on in a number of earlier posts about the sun, its radiation and how I was going to post about an event in nature that is not only a sequential marvel for human intellect to behold but, IMHO, is an event from which symbolic and allegorical meaning can be extracted, reflecting more timeless truths. But, in order to do so, I needed to be in a place that inspired me to put the words which would describe this sequential 'Ayat' or 'Sign' in nature together in my mind. I beleive I found it in the forests and lakes of Central Ontario.
The event in nature I wish to discuss, called Photosynthesis, can be described as both an astronomical as well as a terrestrial event at one and the same time. It is the process in which radiant energy from the sun is captured by green plants and used to power a process that enables the plant cell to make food for itself and for other living beings like animals and humans. All light, whether from the sun or other natural sources, has been found, by the 500 year old tradition of western science spawned by the Rennaissance, to have both wave-like and particle-like properties. In its particle-like aspect light travels as a discrete packet of energy, called a quantum, and is known as a photon. This discrete photon or packet of light also has wave-like properties and can be described in terms of its wavelength and frequency. A plant cell has, evolved within it, an organelle called a chloroplast, which has abundant quantities of a molecule called chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is the substance that gives plants their soothing green colour. As sunlight beams down on the earth on a balmy day the specially designed chlorophyll molecules capture the photons of light energy in their energy-hungry double covalent bonds and, instantly, electrons in this chemical bond move upward into an unstable high energy state. Now, ordinarily, electrons in such a high energy state are not happy to stay that way so, if nothing else happens, these electrons will very quickly go back down to their original stable energy states and the energy they release on this downward journey is either released as another photon of light or is dissipated as heat. The chloroplast organelle has, however, designed a system that prevents this from happening. It bunches a large number of chlorophyll molecules together and, in this conglomeration, the highly energised electron gets rapidly shuttled around from one chlorophyll molecule to another, participating in a molecular dance, to prevent its energy from being dissipated uselessly. Embedded in this molecular system is also another molecule, called a primary electron acceptor, which eventually accepts the dancing electron. This acceptance takes the unstable energy of the excited electron and petrifies it by storing it in the much more stable chemical bond of the primary electron acceptor. From here the energy stored in that high energy electron can be harnessed in a much more controlled fashion and this process unfolds on one of the inner membranes of the chloroplast organelle inside the plant cell. The electron, now stored in a more stable chemical bond, travels down an electron transport chain, gradually releasing its energy into another set of molecules designed to store energy and which are specifically designed for the cell's metabolic apparatus to carry out the reactions that eventually produce food in the form of glucose. Once this new set of high energy molecules, called ATP and NADPH2 in scientific parlance, is formed, this marks the end of the so-called 'Light Reaction' of Photosynthesis. The 'Light Reaction' requires the presence of sunlight to drive it and the net result of this reaction is that electromagnetic radiation and energy caused by illumination from the sun is ingeniously caught and transformed into more stable energy trapped inside the chemical covalent bonds of different sets of energy-hungry molecules.
The next step in Photosynthesis is called the 'Dark Reaction', not because it occurs only in the dark, but because it does not need sunlight to drive it and occurs around the clock. This is the phase where the energy of the sun, now stored in the specific molecules ATP and NADPH2, enters a cycle, called the Calvin Cycle after a man named Calvin discovered it during the 1940s and for which he won the Nobel prize in 1961. In this cycle 3 molecules of low energy, highly oxidised carbon dioxide, which animals and humans release into the atmosphere during exhalation, are brought together with water, through the process of reduction, using the energy stored in those special molecules and with the help of enzymes, to form an extremely stable and high energy compound called G3P, a 3- carbon molecule. Oxygen is also released in this process. G3P can then go on to produce glucose, a 6-carbon molecule, and one which is again very stable and is used by animals and man as their source of energy to exist as living beings on the planet. This glucose is broken down by an organelle in animal and human cells called a mitochondrion into the same useable form called ATP, which is then used to power muscles and make the brain and other organs work as they should.
It is difficult to compute directly, but it appears to cost a chloroplast(in a plant cell) more energy to synthesize one glucose molecule than a mitochondrion (in a human cell) releases by disassembling it. More energy is thereore needed to put into the system than can be taken out of it. This shows clearly that the overall process is completely dependent on the sun and as long as the sun keeps shining, there is a limitless supply of energy for photosynthetic organisms to produce food in the form of organic(carbon-based) compounds.
The philosophical Ismailism that arose during the peri-Fatimid period was partially influenced by rational knowledge passed down from ancient Greece. Some of the terminology used in Neoplatonic philosophy, such as Universal Intellect and Universal Soul, while they were paired up with specific Ismaili concepts like Natiq and Asas to represent the structure of truth, nevertheless were themselves reflective of Quranic concepts. Hence the Universal Intellect is synonymous with Al-Sabiq, the Pen, or the Sun. The Universal Soul is synonymous with Al-Tali, the Tablet, or the Moon.
In the event of nature I described above, the sun in our universe drives the entire process by emitting its radiation onto green plants, which transforms this electromagnetic illumination into more stable and appropriate forms, which convert into nourishment, which then provides growth and development. Just as one can extract different layers of esoteric meaning from a Quranic verse(ayat or sign), one should also be able to extract different layers of symbolic meaning from an ayat or sign in nature since they are both thought to be equivalent in divine revelation. I see symbolism on two different levels in this ayat of nature. At a communal, institutional and population level the Imam takes the Noor or Light deep within himself and uses this illumination to nourish a disadvantaged and needy population and, in so doing, transforms it and causes growth and development, making it self-sufficient, prosperous and bountiful. On a more indidvidual level, the Imam once again takes the Noor or Light deep within himself and uses this illumination to nourish a needy human soul and, in so doing, transforms it and makes it grow and develop towards the timeless, instantaneous intellect that is the Noor.
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)
277)Intellectual pluralism in 10th to 12th century Fatimid Egypt.
34)Intellectual pluralism in 10th to 12th century Fatimid Egypt
The cosmological doctrines that were developed by Ismaili dais during the peri-Fatimid period reveal a commitment to intellectual pluralism by the illustrious Imams of this dynasty that should inform our search for knowledge of all types during the current era:
What I find interesting and very illuminating is how the Imams of the Fatimid period(Al-Qaim to Al-Mustansirbillah) themselves encouraged pluralism of intellectual expression as well. Here you have, on the one hand, the eastern Iranian dais(Al-Nasafi, Al- Sijistani, Khusraw), enthralled by the infusion of Judeo-Christian monotheism into the lofty ideas of Plato(giving Neoplatonism), incorporating it into their own unique Ismaili cosmological doctrines, during the pre- and early years of the Fatimid Caliphate (Imams Al-Qaim to Al-Muiz). Then, on the other hand, you have Arab intellectuals like Alfarabi and Ismaili dai Al-Kirmani, operating during the Imamats of Imams Al-Hakim to Al-Mustansirbillah, preferring, instead, the Aristotelian idea of the ten intellects and incorporating some of those ideas into their cosmological doctrines. Clearly, the Imams of this illustrious period rolled out a fertile red carpet which provided the enabling environment for pluralism of intellectual expression to flourish.
While the the Al-Kirmani cosmological doctrine continued to be elaborated and promulgated by Caliphs of the later Mustelian period, it was the Al-Sijistani-Khusraw cosmological doctrine that became the ultimate preference of the Nizari Ismailis and my personal opinion is that our 48th Imam himself, Mowlana Sultan Mohammed Shah, in his Memoirs under the chapter on Islam, is partial to the doctrine of the Universal Soul, which is exclusive to the Al-Sijistani-Khusraw cosmology:
"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."
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)
The cosmological doctrines that were developed by Ismaili dais during the peri-Fatimid period reveal a commitment to intellectual pluralism by the illustrious Imams of this dynasty that should inform our search for knowledge of all types during the current era:
What I find interesting and very illuminating is how the Imams of the Fatimid period(Al-Qaim to Al-Mustansirbillah) themselves encouraged pluralism of intellectual expression as well. Here you have, on the one hand, the eastern Iranian dais(Al-Nasafi, Al- Sijistani, Khusraw), enthralled by the infusion of Judeo-Christian monotheism into the lofty ideas of Plato(giving Neoplatonism), incorporating it into their own unique Ismaili cosmological doctrines, during the pre- and early years of the Fatimid Caliphate (Imams Al-Qaim to Al-Muiz). Then, on the other hand, you have Arab intellectuals like Alfarabi and Ismaili dai Al-Kirmani, operating during the Imamats of Imams Al-Hakim to Al-Mustansirbillah, preferring, instead, the Aristotelian idea of the ten intellects and incorporating some of those ideas into their cosmological doctrines. Clearly, the Imams of this illustrious period rolled out a fertile red carpet which provided the enabling environment for pluralism of intellectual expression to flourish.
While the the Al-Kirmani cosmological doctrine continued to be elaborated and promulgated by Caliphs of the later Mustelian period, it was the Al-Sijistani-Khusraw cosmological doctrine that became the ultimate preference of the Nizari Ismailis and my personal opinion is that our 48th Imam himself, Mowlana Sultan Mohammed Shah, in his Memoirs under the chapter on Islam, is partial to the doctrine of the Universal Soul, which is exclusive to the Al-Sijistani-Khusraw cosmology:
"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."
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)
Monday, January 7, 2008
276)No. 3, 'Ayats'(Signs) in the Universe series: The dynamic, roiling, rumbling surface of the earth.
31)No. 3, 'Ayats'(Signs) in the Universe series: The dynamic, roiling, rumbling surface of the earth.
Ayats(Signs) in the Universe series, no. 3
The dynamic, roiling, rumbling surface of the earth:
Sura 27, Ayat 88: "Thou seest the mountains and thinkest them firmly fixed: but they shall pass away as the clouds pass away: (such is) the artistry of God, who disposes of all things in perfect order: for he is well acquainted with all that ye do."
Recently we have witnessed how Mount Merapi in Indonesia has been stirring to life, spewing volcanic ash and lava. We also saw, around the same time, an earthquake strike Java province not far to the west of the active volcano. We all also remember the devastating earthquake and tsunami off Sumatra province in 2004.
I bring this up because the sight of another mountain range as I was driving from Toronto to Washington DC over the Victoria Day long weekend jogged my memory of how the earth we live on is not static but very dynamic and that volcanoes, earthquakes and mountain ranges are connected in ways that were only fully discovered in the mid-1960s.
I was driving past the Appalachian mountain range in Pennsylvania and it occured to me that this range was once taller than the Himalayas are today. All this earthly dynamism is the result of a phenomenon called plate tectonics, which was one of the great scientific discoveries of the 20th century. The plate tectonics revolution resulted primarily from the merging of six seperate lines of observational evidence:
1) The similarly shaped coastlines of Africa and Europe compared to North and South America;
2) Major deposits of rocks, minerals and fossils seem to match up exactly accross the Atlantic ocean, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle;
3)The non-uniform distribution of earthquakes and volcanoes, which tend to lie along narrow belts around the globe;
4)Ocean floor topography, including an astonishing chain of mountains called the Mid-Atlantic Ridge;
5)The ages of volcanic islands in the Atlantic ocean, and,
6)Sea-floor magnetic data.
The resulting theory of plate tectonics states that the Earth's surface is broken up into about a dozen tectonic plates, which are relatively thin, brittle slabs of rock no more than 100km thick, but up to thousands of km accross.. The energy to move all these plates comes from the hot, plasticised rocks undergoing convection movement in the earth's mantle.
The tectonic plates are seperated by three types of boundaries:
a)Divergent boundaries, where new crust forms: The mid-Atlantic mountain range is under the Atlantic ocean and is the longest mountain range on earth, which runs the full length of the North and South Atlantic oceans, almost exactly half way between the continents and roughly parallel to the curving coastlines. This mountain range is where new earth crust is formed on the surface of the ocean floor and spreads laterally outwards in both directions, a mechanism that could explain the opening of the Atlantic ocean; this boundary is now spreading outwards at about 2 to 4 cm per year. At this rate of spreading, the Atlantic began to open up 200 million years ago. Before this time there was no Atlantic ocean and all four continents were crunched up against each other, forcing the Appalachian mountain chain to go upwards and be even taller than the Himalayas are today. Another major divergent boundary in the South Pacific ocean is spreading as much as 17cm per year.
b) Convergent boundaries, where crust plunges back into the earth's mantle: This process occurs in those areas around the Pacific rim, where earthquakes and volcanoes occur in proximity. When one of the converging plates carries thin ocean crust as opposed to thicker continental crust(as in the Indonesian or Java plate boundary), the oceanic material plunges into the mantle in a process called subduction. Subduction zones are associated with numerous deep earthquakes, as well as intense volcanism, inland of the subduction zone by about 70 to 100km. Hence Mount Merapi is about 100km to the east of the recent earthquake fault line. I saw a news clip yesterday that said that, as a result of the recent earthquake, the volcano has become even more active, underlining the intimate connection between the volcano and the nearby tectonic plate boundary. Mount St. Helens, which had a blistering eruption in 1980, is also about 100km to the east of the North west pacific tectonic plate boundary. The Andes mountain range in South America frequently has volcanic eruptions and this range is, again, about 100km inland from its fault line. Mount Pinatubo in the Phillipines is about 100km to the west of the Pacific tectonic plate and is part of the circular 'Ring of Fire' that surrounds the Pacific ocean. The picture of the Alaskan volcano I posted before this post is also part of this ring of fire, ocupying the northern part of the 'Ring'.
c)Transform boundaries are faults where two plates slide laterally past each other not under or over each other. The San Andreas fault on the west coast of Canada and the U.S.A. is the longest highly active tranform boundary.
Not all volcanoes arise in intimate relation to a tectonic plate boundary. Some well-known volcanic areas, including Hawaii and Yellowstone National Park are in the middle of a tectonic plate and not near a boundary. They are above what are called 'hot spots' from deep within the earth's mantle about 3000km down. As the Pacific Plate moves over the fixed Hawaiian hot spot, new Hawaiian islands are formed.
We can see that the surface of the earth is a place of roiling activity that sees crust get sucked back into the mantle at some points on the earth and new crust ooze back out onto the surface from the mantle at other points on earth. The whole process is driven by the earth's own inner heat from the mantle. Volcanoes and earthquakes are a consequence of this roiling activity. This is how the earth renews itself over millions of years.
The following exerpt of a speech by Mowlana Hazar Imam captures the essence of the knowledge of the above-described object and event in nature: "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." [Speech 16 March 1983] -- Aga Khan IV.
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)
Ayats(Signs) in the Universe series, no. 3
The dynamic, roiling, rumbling surface of the earth:
Sura 27, Ayat 88: "Thou seest the mountains and thinkest them firmly fixed: but they shall pass away as the clouds pass away: (such is) the artistry of God, who disposes of all things in perfect order: for he is well acquainted with all that ye do."
Recently we have witnessed how Mount Merapi in Indonesia has been stirring to life, spewing volcanic ash and lava. We also saw, around the same time, an earthquake strike Java province not far to the west of the active volcano. We all also remember the devastating earthquake and tsunami off Sumatra province in 2004.
I bring this up because the sight of another mountain range as I was driving from Toronto to Washington DC over the Victoria Day long weekend jogged my memory of how the earth we live on is not static but very dynamic and that volcanoes, earthquakes and mountain ranges are connected in ways that were only fully discovered in the mid-1960s.
I was driving past the Appalachian mountain range in Pennsylvania and it occured to me that this range was once taller than the Himalayas are today. All this earthly dynamism is the result of a phenomenon called plate tectonics, which was one of the great scientific discoveries of the 20th century. The plate tectonics revolution resulted primarily from the merging of six seperate lines of observational evidence:
1) The similarly shaped coastlines of Africa and Europe compared to North and South America;
2) Major deposits of rocks, minerals and fossils seem to match up exactly accross the Atlantic ocean, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle;
3)The non-uniform distribution of earthquakes and volcanoes, which tend to lie along narrow belts around the globe;
4)Ocean floor topography, including an astonishing chain of mountains called the Mid-Atlantic Ridge;
5)The ages of volcanic islands in the Atlantic ocean, and,
6)Sea-floor magnetic data.
The resulting theory of plate tectonics states that the Earth's surface is broken up into about a dozen tectonic plates, which are relatively thin, brittle slabs of rock no more than 100km thick, but up to thousands of km accross.. The energy to move all these plates comes from the hot, plasticised rocks undergoing convection movement in the earth's mantle.
The tectonic plates are seperated by three types of boundaries:
a)Divergent boundaries, where new crust forms: The mid-Atlantic mountain range is under the Atlantic ocean and is the longest mountain range on earth, which runs the full length of the North and South Atlantic oceans, almost exactly half way between the continents and roughly parallel to the curving coastlines. This mountain range is where new earth crust is formed on the surface of the ocean floor and spreads laterally outwards in both directions, a mechanism that could explain the opening of the Atlantic ocean; this boundary is now spreading outwards at about 2 to 4 cm per year. At this rate of spreading, the Atlantic began to open up 200 million years ago. Before this time there was no Atlantic ocean and all four continents were crunched up against each other, forcing the Appalachian mountain chain to go upwards and be even taller than the Himalayas are today. Another major divergent boundary in the South Pacific ocean is spreading as much as 17cm per year.
b) Convergent boundaries, where crust plunges back into the earth's mantle: This process occurs in those areas around the Pacific rim, where earthquakes and volcanoes occur in proximity. When one of the converging plates carries thin ocean crust as opposed to thicker continental crust(as in the Indonesian or Java plate boundary), the oceanic material plunges into the mantle in a process called subduction. Subduction zones are associated with numerous deep earthquakes, as well as intense volcanism, inland of the subduction zone by about 70 to 100km. Hence Mount Merapi is about 100km to the east of the recent earthquake fault line. I saw a news clip yesterday that said that, as a result of the recent earthquake, the volcano has become even more active, underlining the intimate connection between the volcano and the nearby tectonic plate boundary. Mount St. Helens, which had a blistering eruption in 1980, is also about 100km to the east of the North west pacific tectonic plate boundary. The Andes mountain range in South America frequently has volcanic eruptions and this range is, again, about 100km inland from its fault line. Mount Pinatubo in the Phillipines is about 100km to the west of the Pacific tectonic plate and is part of the circular 'Ring of Fire' that surrounds the Pacific ocean. The picture of the Alaskan volcano I posted before this post is also part of this ring of fire, ocupying the northern part of the 'Ring'.
c)Transform boundaries are faults where two plates slide laterally past each other not under or over each other. The San Andreas fault on the west coast of Canada and the U.S.A. is the longest highly active tranform boundary.
Not all volcanoes arise in intimate relation to a tectonic plate boundary. Some well-known volcanic areas, including Hawaii and Yellowstone National Park are in the middle of a tectonic plate and not near a boundary. They are above what are called 'hot spots' from deep within the earth's mantle about 3000km down. As the Pacific Plate moves over the fixed Hawaiian hot spot, new Hawaiian islands are formed.
We can see that the surface of the earth is a place of roiling activity that sees crust get sucked back into the mantle at some points on the earth and new crust ooze back out onto the surface from the mantle at other points on earth. The whole process is driven by the earth's own inner heat from the mantle. Volcanoes and earthquakes are a consequence of this roiling activity. This is how the earth renews itself over millions of years.
The following exerpt of a speech by Mowlana Hazar Imam captures the essence of the knowledge of the above-described object and event in nature: "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." [Speech 16 March 1983] -- Aga Khan IV.
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)
275)No. 2, 'Ayats'(Signs) in the Universe series: The miniscule universe inside a living cell.
29)No. 2, 'Ayats'(Signs) in the Universe series: The miniscule universe inside a living cell.
Ayats(Signs) in the Universe series, no. 2
The miniscule universe inside a living cell.
May 2006. This morning, mother's day, I was woken up early by our 13 year old daughter who surprised my wife, her mother, with a superb breakfast in bed, lovingly made, along with the sunday New York Times newspaper. To watch the bond of love between mother and daughter was very inspiring to me. It got me thinking about the cosmos around us and that, while I have posted much on the macro universe of the vastness of space, let us not forget that there are just as fascinating universes that exist at the microscopic level, where the human eye cannot see without the aid of powerful microscopes and brilliant imaginations. There is a treasure trove of knowledge about things microscopic that make up our cosmos. How can I use this knowledge to link up with and strengthen my faith in God? It would be very much in keeping with the Ismaili tariqa, which our Imams keep reminding us is one that places the greatest emphasis on the acquisition of knowledge to strengthen one's faith.
My thoughts turned to the smallest known unit of life, the cell. Invisible to the naked eye, the living cell is nevertheless a universe unto itself. How such a small entity can have so many moving parts has boggled my mind for as long as I can remember. And I thought, what if I picked up a cell at the top and just held it there and looked at it; would all the contents of the cell just fall to the bottom of the bag because of the force of gravity?
They do not and I ask, why is that? If you look at an electron microscopic picture of the inside of a cell, you see a a very organised place with numerous structures called organelles. These have different shapes, sizes and functions. Holding them all in place so they don't all sink to the floor of the cell is a delicate but strong skeleton(called a cytoskeleton), like a scaffolding, made up of protein filaments shaped like long tubes. All the organelles are kept in place by being attached to these tube-like structures. All these organelles in the cell are bathed by an enabling, nourishing fluid. Some key reactions essential to the survival of the cell occur in this fluid. Other key reactions occur inside the organelles at different locations.
Within cells there are also structures that serve as transportation hallways, where new products like proteins, carbohydrates and fats are transported from one part of the cell to another after they have been produced. It is all a very orderly process. The nucleus is usually at the center of the cell and this is where information that is coded in the genetic molecules is copied onto other molecules, then transferred out of the nucleus to be used in the main body of the cell to create new proteins and other substances. The process of the synthesis of proteins using information coded in genes is truly something to marvel at.
In the picture of philosophical Ismailism created for us by the Al-Sijistani-Khusraw duo, the 'Pen' referred to in the Quran, provides 'tayyid' or divine inspiration to the 'Tablet' mentioned in the Quran. The 'Pen' is the celestial blueprint which provides the enabling environment for the 'Tablet' to compose('tarkib') the material structures of the universe at all levels. There is therefore a direct connection between the material universe and the 'Pen' that is ultimately responsible for its fashioning. The 'Asas', 'Natiq' and 'Tablet' are all different facets of the 'Pen', different in manifestation but united in essence. All four are the wellsprings of knowledge referred to in philosophical Ismailism and make up the structure of truth that was originated by the Absolutely Transcendent Originator through the Divine Command.
Ultimately, looking at how the material creation functions allows us to marvel and cultivate admiration for the maker of it. Through admiration one can develop love and a greater desire to know the maker. By using one's rational intellect to appreciate and understand the creation, one can perhaps, with the help of the 'Asas' and 'Natiq', create a path to the timeless, instantaneous intellect that is the 'Pen'.
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)
Ayats(Signs) in the Universe series, no. 2
The miniscule universe inside a living cell.
May 2006. This morning, mother's day, I was woken up early by our 13 year old daughter who surprised my wife, her mother, with a superb breakfast in bed, lovingly made, along with the sunday New York Times newspaper. To watch the bond of love between mother and daughter was very inspiring to me. It got me thinking about the cosmos around us and that, while I have posted much on the macro universe of the vastness of space, let us not forget that there are just as fascinating universes that exist at the microscopic level, where the human eye cannot see without the aid of powerful microscopes and brilliant imaginations. There is a treasure trove of knowledge about things microscopic that make up our cosmos. How can I use this knowledge to link up with and strengthen my faith in God? It would be very much in keeping with the Ismaili tariqa, which our Imams keep reminding us is one that places the greatest emphasis on the acquisition of knowledge to strengthen one's faith.
My thoughts turned to the smallest known unit of life, the cell. Invisible to the naked eye, the living cell is nevertheless a universe unto itself. How such a small entity can have so many moving parts has boggled my mind for as long as I can remember. And I thought, what if I picked up a cell at the top and just held it there and looked at it; would all the contents of the cell just fall to the bottom of the bag because of the force of gravity?
They do not and I ask, why is that? If you look at an electron microscopic picture of the inside of a cell, you see a a very organised place with numerous structures called organelles. These have different shapes, sizes and functions. Holding them all in place so they don't all sink to the floor of the cell is a delicate but strong skeleton(called a cytoskeleton), like a scaffolding, made up of protein filaments shaped like long tubes. All the organelles are kept in place by being attached to these tube-like structures. All these organelles in the cell are bathed by an enabling, nourishing fluid. Some key reactions essential to the survival of the cell occur in this fluid. Other key reactions occur inside the organelles at different locations.
Within cells there are also structures that serve as transportation hallways, where new products like proteins, carbohydrates and fats are transported from one part of the cell to another after they have been produced. It is all a very orderly process. The nucleus is usually at the center of the cell and this is where information that is coded in the genetic molecules is copied onto other molecules, then transferred out of the nucleus to be used in the main body of the cell to create new proteins and other substances. The process of the synthesis of proteins using information coded in genes is truly something to marvel at.
In the picture of philosophical Ismailism created for us by the Al-Sijistani-Khusraw duo, the 'Pen' referred to in the Quran, provides 'tayyid' or divine inspiration to the 'Tablet' mentioned in the Quran. The 'Pen' is the celestial blueprint which provides the enabling environment for the 'Tablet' to compose('tarkib') the material structures of the universe at all levels. There is therefore a direct connection between the material universe and the 'Pen' that is ultimately responsible for its fashioning. The 'Asas', 'Natiq' and 'Tablet' are all different facets of the 'Pen', different in manifestation but united in essence. All four are the wellsprings of knowledge referred to in philosophical Ismailism and make up the structure of truth that was originated by the Absolutely Transcendent Originator through the Divine Command.
Ultimately, looking at how the material creation functions allows us to marvel and cultivate admiration for the maker of it. Through admiration one can develop love and a greater desire to know the maker. By using one's rational intellect to appreciate and understand the creation, one can perhaps, with the help of the 'Asas' and 'Natiq', create a path to the timeless, instantaneous intellect that is the 'Pen'.
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)
274)Nasir Khusraw(1004-1060): The Ruby of Badakhshan, from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, plus all IIS publications on him.
From the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy:
A good article by someone who wrote one of the definitive books on Pir Nasir Khusraw, Alice C. Hunsberger. This article shows how the doctrines of philosophical Ismailism allow us to conceptualise the link between science and religion, how the study and contemplation of objects and events in the universe can help us to step onto the hallowed path towards the absolutely transcendent God:
Nasir Khusraw (1004-1060)
1. Life 2. Philosophy 3. References and Further Reading
1. LifeIn striking contrast to other Ismaili writers of the time (s.v., Hamid ai-din al Kirmani; Abu Ya‘qub al-Sijistani), a good deal of information exists on Khusraw’s life, most written by his own hand, some by a (hostile) contemporary, some by later historians, and some apocryphal. He has been included in every major literary or historical survey produced since his lifetime. We can divide Khusraw’s life into four periods: his early years up to age forty (for which we must pull snippets from various texts); his conversion to Ismailism (of which he has left two different versions, one prose, one poetry); his seven-year journey (found in his Safarnama); and his years of preaching followed by persecution and exile (drawn primarily from his poetry, but also a few statements in his philosophical works).
Abu Mo’in Hamid al-Din Nasir ibn Khusraw was born in 1004 in Qobadiyan in the district of Marv, in the eastern Iranian province of Khurasan. He and at least two of his brothers enjoyed high positions in the administrative ranks of the Saljuq court (he says he himself was in the revenue department), and there is evidence that he was also familiar with the court of previous dynasty, the Ghaznavids. Based on the quality of his writings, it is obvious he received an excellent education in the sciences, literatures and philosophies of his time, including the study of Greek and Neoplatonic philosophy. He tells us he examined the doctrines of the different Islamic schools and was not satisfied until he found and understood the Ismaili faith. From this event of conversion, he embarked on his journey, during which time he spent three years in the Ismaili court in Cairo of the Fatimid caliph, al-Mustansir (1029-1094). The Fatimid dynasty (909-1171) aimed at creating an Islamic state based on Ismaili tenets, and thus presented a direct theological and military challenge to the Sunni ‘Abbasid caliphate based in Baghdad. He left Cairo as the head (hujjat) of Ismaili missionary activities in his home province of Khurasan. At some point, he was forced by the Sunni authorities to flee for his life; he lived the rest of his life in exile further east, in the Pamir Mountains in Badakhshan, located in today’s Tajikistan and Afghanistan.
2. PhilosophyKhusraw’s philosophical works reveal a strong Neoplatonic structure and vocabulary. For example, his cosmogony closely follows Plotinus, moving from God and God’s word (logos), to Intellect, Soul, and the world of Nature. In holding to this cosmogonic description, Khusraw follows his fellow Ismailis (Nasafi and al-Sijistani) and ignores the structure introduced by al-Farabi and picked up by Ibn Sina and the Ismaili philosopher al-Kirmani.Before looking at this more closely, it is important to understand that underlying each of the Ismaili cosmogonic systems is a fundamental division of all into two realms, the esoteric and the exoteric, the batin and zahir. With this division, everything in the physical world points to its counterpart in the spiritual, which is seen as its source, its home, its true form. Thus the cosmogonic structure itself reveals a purposeful, providential unfolding from the imaginal, spiritual into the physical, which looks back at the spiritual and seeks to grasp it and comprehend it.
Khusraw begins with a discussion of tawhid (oneness, God’s unity), the clear understanding of which is the only way to achieve spiritual perfection. For Nasir, God Himself is indescribable (nothing which has an opposite can be ascribed to Him, since that would be limiting Him to human concepts) and is not a being, in fact, is beyond all categories of being and non-being alike. However, from God emerges his Word (kalmia), ‘Be!’, which brings into existence Universal Intellect, perfect in potentiality and actuality. Intellect contains all being within itself, with no time or space, all opposites with no differentiation. Intellect enjoys a worshipful intimacy with God and a perfection born of this intimacy. From this worship, emerges Universal Soul, perfect in potentiality but not in actuality, because it is separated from God by Intellect. Universal Soul recognises this separation, desires the perfection enjoyed by Intellect, and moves to approach closer to God. With these three actions, and its movement seeking perfection, Soul introduces the first movement into the entire structure, thus also time and place. The entire cosmos has thus been set into motion, and with it the oppositions of hot, cold, wet, dry, and from them the four elements: earth, air, fire and water. From these elements arise first the minerals, then the plants, then the animals, and finally, the summit of physical creation, human beings, embedded within whom are individual intellects and individual souls manifesting the same characteristics (but on an smaller level) as the universals. In fact, the entire cosmos is laid down on a matrix of Intellect and Soul; everything within it displays the original intelligence and drive exhibited by the original duo.
Khusraw’s ethics grow from and reflect this cosmogony. Each individual’s task is to recognise his or her own imperfections and then move to correct them, seeking the closest relationship possible with God. For Khusraw, this is achieved by stringent and repeated application of the intellect, to both physical and spiritual matters. The believer must find a guide, must study diligently, must perform all required religious acts with full understanding, and must accompany new understanding with new, superior levels of worldly activity.As an Ismaili, Khusraw held the Shi‘i doctrine that God would not send a revelation without a guide to interpret it. For the Ismailis, this guide must be a living person, the Imam of the Time, divinely inspired, infallible, and perfectly capable of providing guidance in spiritual and worldly affairs, who thus serves as a living bridge between the two realms.
3. References and Further Reading: See http://www.iep.utm.edu/k/khusraw.htm
The Institute of Ismaili Studies has done in-depth work on Nasir Khusraw:
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=100693
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=101115
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=103487
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=101087
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=100652
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=104818
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=105753
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=101641
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=106417
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=106747
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=100890
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=108982
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)
A good article by someone who wrote one of the definitive books on Pir Nasir Khusraw, Alice C. Hunsberger. This article shows how the doctrines of philosophical Ismailism allow us to conceptualise the link between science and religion, how the study and contemplation of objects and events in the universe can help us to step onto the hallowed path towards the absolutely transcendent God:
Nasir Khusraw (1004-1060)
1. Life 2. Philosophy 3. References and Further Reading
1. LifeIn striking contrast to other Ismaili writers of the time (s.v., Hamid ai-din al Kirmani; Abu Ya‘qub al-Sijistani), a good deal of information exists on Khusraw’s life, most written by his own hand, some by a (hostile) contemporary, some by later historians, and some apocryphal. He has been included in every major literary or historical survey produced since his lifetime. We can divide Khusraw’s life into four periods: his early years up to age forty (for which we must pull snippets from various texts); his conversion to Ismailism (of which he has left two different versions, one prose, one poetry); his seven-year journey (found in his Safarnama); and his years of preaching followed by persecution and exile (drawn primarily from his poetry, but also a few statements in his philosophical works).
Abu Mo’in Hamid al-Din Nasir ibn Khusraw was born in 1004 in Qobadiyan in the district of Marv, in the eastern Iranian province of Khurasan. He and at least two of his brothers enjoyed high positions in the administrative ranks of the Saljuq court (he says he himself was in the revenue department), and there is evidence that he was also familiar with the court of previous dynasty, the Ghaznavids. Based on the quality of his writings, it is obvious he received an excellent education in the sciences, literatures and philosophies of his time, including the study of Greek and Neoplatonic philosophy. He tells us he examined the doctrines of the different Islamic schools and was not satisfied until he found and understood the Ismaili faith. From this event of conversion, he embarked on his journey, during which time he spent three years in the Ismaili court in Cairo of the Fatimid caliph, al-Mustansir (1029-1094). The Fatimid dynasty (909-1171) aimed at creating an Islamic state based on Ismaili tenets, and thus presented a direct theological and military challenge to the Sunni ‘Abbasid caliphate based in Baghdad. He left Cairo as the head (hujjat) of Ismaili missionary activities in his home province of Khurasan. At some point, he was forced by the Sunni authorities to flee for his life; he lived the rest of his life in exile further east, in the Pamir Mountains in Badakhshan, located in today’s Tajikistan and Afghanistan.
2. PhilosophyKhusraw’s philosophical works reveal a strong Neoplatonic structure and vocabulary. For example, his cosmogony closely follows Plotinus, moving from God and God’s word (logos), to Intellect, Soul, and the world of Nature. In holding to this cosmogonic description, Khusraw follows his fellow Ismailis (Nasafi and al-Sijistani) and ignores the structure introduced by al-Farabi and picked up by Ibn Sina and the Ismaili philosopher al-Kirmani.Before looking at this more closely, it is important to understand that underlying each of the Ismaili cosmogonic systems is a fundamental division of all into two realms, the esoteric and the exoteric, the batin and zahir. With this division, everything in the physical world points to its counterpart in the spiritual, which is seen as its source, its home, its true form. Thus the cosmogonic structure itself reveals a purposeful, providential unfolding from the imaginal, spiritual into the physical, which looks back at the spiritual and seeks to grasp it and comprehend it.
Khusraw begins with a discussion of tawhid (oneness, God’s unity), the clear understanding of which is the only way to achieve spiritual perfection. For Nasir, God Himself is indescribable (nothing which has an opposite can be ascribed to Him, since that would be limiting Him to human concepts) and is not a being, in fact, is beyond all categories of being and non-being alike. However, from God emerges his Word (kalmia), ‘Be!’, which brings into existence Universal Intellect, perfect in potentiality and actuality. Intellect contains all being within itself, with no time or space, all opposites with no differentiation. Intellect enjoys a worshipful intimacy with God and a perfection born of this intimacy. From this worship, emerges Universal Soul, perfect in potentiality but not in actuality, because it is separated from God by Intellect. Universal Soul recognises this separation, desires the perfection enjoyed by Intellect, and moves to approach closer to God. With these three actions, and its movement seeking perfection, Soul introduces the first movement into the entire structure, thus also time and place. The entire cosmos has thus been set into motion, and with it the oppositions of hot, cold, wet, dry, and from them the four elements: earth, air, fire and water. From these elements arise first the minerals, then the plants, then the animals, and finally, the summit of physical creation, human beings, embedded within whom are individual intellects and individual souls manifesting the same characteristics (but on an smaller level) as the universals. In fact, the entire cosmos is laid down on a matrix of Intellect and Soul; everything within it displays the original intelligence and drive exhibited by the original duo.
Khusraw’s ethics grow from and reflect this cosmogony. Each individual’s task is to recognise his or her own imperfections and then move to correct them, seeking the closest relationship possible with God. For Khusraw, this is achieved by stringent and repeated application of the intellect, to both physical and spiritual matters. The believer must find a guide, must study diligently, must perform all required religious acts with full understanding, and must accompany new understanding with new, superior levels of worldly activity.As an Ismaili, Khusraw held the Shi‘i doctrine that God would not send a revelation without a guide to interpret it. For the Ismailis, this guide must be a living person, the Imam of the Time, divinely inspired, infallible, and perfectly capable of providing guidance in spiritual and worldly affairs, who thus serves as a living bridge between the two realms.
3. References and Further Reading: See http://www.iep.utm.edu/k/khusraw.htm
The Institute of Ismaili Studies has done in-depth work on Nasir Khusraw:
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=100693
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=101115
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=103487
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=101087
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=100652
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=104818
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=105753
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=101641
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=106417
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=106747
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=100890
http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=108982
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)
Sunday, January 6, 2008
273)Basics on the vast distances and sizes in Astronomy.
24)Basics on the vast distances and sizes in Astronomy
Regarding my posts on Astronomy and the vast sizes of galaxies and vast distances between galaxies and between the earth and such galaxies, I think it would be prudent to post a few explanatory numbers so people can have some idea of the vastness of space relative to distances on earth.
I have read that the furthest distance between two points on the earth is between Vancouver, Canada and Cape Town, South Africa( about 13-14 thousand kilometers).
Because of the vastness of space, a convenient way to give very large distances is in terms of the light travel time.
The speed of light is 300,000 kilometers per second(km/s). It is the largest possible speed with which information can travel through space. Hence light travelling from the moon 384,000 km away from the earth takes 1.3 seconds to reach us. We say that the moon is "1.3 light seconds away". This led to the noticeable delay in the responses of lunar astronauts to(radio transmitted) questions from people on earth.
The sun is 150 million(150,000,000) km from earth. It takes light 500seconds(8.3 minutes) to reach the earth from the sun. We therefore say that the sun is "8.3 light minutes away" away from earth. If the sun abruptly stopped shining, we would not know it for 8.3 minutes because the emitted light is already on its way!
A light year is the distance light travels in one year. By the above-mentioned speed of light, one light year represents a distance of 10 trillion km( a one with 13 zeros in front of it!).
The nearest star in our own galaxy to our solar sytem(our sun and all its planets) is called Proxima Centauri and it is 4.3 light years away(or 4.3 time 10 trillion= 43 trillion km away from the earth or 43 with 12 zeroes in front of it). The nearest large collection of stars(galaxy) to the earth, the Andromeda galaxy, is over 2 million light years away(that is 2 million multiplied by a one with 13 zeroes in front of it to give the number of kilometers away from earth, or 2 with 19 zeroes in front of it). The Andromeda galaxy is also 100,000 light years in diameter, ie, you would have to travel 100,000 multiplied by a one with 13 zeroes in front of it= a one with 18 zeroes in front of, kilometers, just to go from one end of this galaxy to the other!!!
The picture from the NASA website of two galaxies colliding with each other at this very moment shows them to be 140 million light years away from us.
There is only one response to the incomprehensible distances within and the vastness of space: Allahu-Akbar!
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)
Regarding my posts on Astronomy and the vast sizes of galaxies and vast distances between galaxies and between the earth and such galaxies, I think it would be prudent to post a few explanatory numbers so people can have some idea of the vastness of space relative to distances on earth.
I have read that the furthest distance between two points on the earth is between Vancouver, Canada and Cape Town, South Africa( about 13-14 thousand kilometers).
Because of the vastness of space, a convenient way to give very large distances is in terms of the light travel time.
The speed of light is 300,000 kilometers per second(km/s). It is the largest possible speed with which information can travel through space. Hence light travelling from the moon 384,000 km away from the earth takes 1.3 seconds to reach us. We say that the moon is "1.3 light seconds away". This led to the noticeable delay in the responses of lunar astronauts to(radio transmitted) questions from people on earth.
The sun is 150 million(150,000,000) km from earth. It takes light 500seconds(8.3 minutes) to reach the earth from the sun. We therefore say that the sun is "8.3 light minutes away" away from earth. If the sun abruptly stopped shining, we would not know it for 8.3 minutes because the emitted light is already on its way!
A light year is the distance light travels in one year. By the above-mentioned speed of light, one light year represents a distance of 10 trillion km( a one with 13 zeros in front of it!).
The nearest star in our own galaxy to our solar sytem(our sun and all its planets) is called Proxima Centauri and it is 4.3 light years away(or 4.3 time 10 trillion= 43 trillion km away from the earth or 43 with 12 zeroes in front of it). The nearest large collection of stars(galaxy) to the earth, the Andromeda galaxy, is over 2 million light years away(that is 2 million multiplied by a one with 13 zeroes in front of it to give the number of kilometers away from earth, or 2 with 19 zeroes in front of it). The Andromeda galaxy is also 100,000 light years in diameter, ie, you would have to travel 100,000 multiplied by a one with 13 zeroes in front of it= a one with 18 zeroes in front of, kilometers, just to go from one end of this galaxy to the other!!!
The picture from the NASA website of two galaxies colliding with each other at this very moment shows them to be 140 million light years away from us.
There is only one response to the incomprehensible distances within and the vastness of space: Allahu-Akbar!
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)
272)No. 1, 'Ayats'(Signs) in the Universe series: A magnificent vista of nature as seen from a cottage deck
19)No. 1, 'Ayats'(Signs) in the Universe series: A magnificent vista of nature as seen from a cottage deck
Ayats(Signs) in the Universe series, no.1A magnificent vista of nature as seen from a cottage deck:
April 2006. I just returned with my family from my cottage in Ontario's lake district, the Muskokas. April is always a great month to go up north because the snow and ice are melting, the many varieties of birds are chirping excitedly, new buds and leaves are appearing on the many varieties of non-evergreen trees, the air is fresh and all around one there are signs of rejuvenation and renewal. I am reminded of the following Quranic verse:
Sura 36, Ayat 33: 'And a sign for them is the way in which we have given life to the earth that is dead: We quickened it and brought forth from it grain, of which they eat'.
The word 'quickening' refers not only to the sun and water and the temperature but also to the countless species of bacteria and other organisms that 'wake up' after the winter and begin to churn out all sorts of nutrients to enrich the soil and prepare it for the ensuing growing season.
With all the melting snow and ice, the small creek that usually meanders slowly by the side of our cottage is now a raging mini-torrent as it snakes towards the lake. The lake itself was about 80% covered with a thin layer of ice on friday but by yesterday(sunday) most of the ice had melted away. The gurgling sound of flowing water was music to the soul. So was the wild chirping of the birds and sounds of insects.
As I surveyed the idyllic scene from the comfortable beach chair on my deck I began to think about the differences between sufism and philosophical ismailism and how each might survey such a scene differently as they try to reach an understanding of God.
A sufi might look at such an enthralling scene holistically and contemplate it as a single unified scene reflecting the beauty of Allah's creation. Combining this picture with guidance from his murshid or master, a sufi could use a scene like this to meditate on as he plumbed the depths towards that all-encompassing divine love that is the goal of every sufi.
An adherent of philosophical ismailism would do the same as the sufi but would also try to do more to satisfy his intellect. He would be searching for other ways to link his intellect to his faith. He might remember the farman made by Mowlana Hazar Imam in Toronto on Wednesday, June 8th 2005 in which he said:".....Our interpretation of Islam places enormous value on knowledge. Knowledge is the reflection of faith if it is used properly. Seek out that knowledge and use it properly...."
This kind of farman has been made throughout the ages by earlier Imams and perhaps that is why proponents of philosophical ismailism used words like Intellect or Universal Intellect or Universal Soul rather that Divine Love or Divine Essence. They were interested not only in a holistic appreciation of the creation but also in the structure of truth in its minutest of detail.
Hence, Pir Nasir Khusraw wrote treatises on the structure and nature of time and space. He was interested not only in appreciating Allah's creation holistically but he was also trying to learn the science within creation because it represents the structure of truth at its most basic level.
Coming back to the scene in front of me at my cottage, I marvelled at the vista in holistic fashion but, in keeping to the farman made in Toronto in June 2005 where I was fortunate to be in that audience, I was also very interested in the minutest details of that scene because they represent the handiwork of Allah and my hope was and is that, in appreciating the 'zahir' of that vista, I might someday be able to penetrate through it to reach its 'batin'.
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)
Ayats(Signs) in the Universe series, no.1A magnificent vista of nature as seen from a cottage deck:
April 2006. I just returned with my family from my cottage in Ontario's lake district, the Muskokas. April is always a great month to go up north because the snow and ice are melting, the many varieties of birds are chirping excitedly, new buds and leaves are appearing on the many varieties of non-evergreen trees, the air is fresh and all around one there are signs of rejuvenation and renewal. I am reminded of the following Quranic verse:
Sura 36, Ayat 33: 'And a sign for them is the way in which we have given life to the earth that is dead: We quickened it and brought forth from it grain, of which they eat'.
The word 'quickening' refers not only to the sun and water and the temperature but also to the countless species of bacteria and other organisms that 'wake up' after the winter and begin to churn out all sorts of nutrients to enrich the soil and prepare it for the ensuing growing season.
With all the melting snow and ice, the small creek that usually meanders slowly by the side of our cottage is now a raging mini-torrent as it snakes towards the lake. The lake itself was about 80% covered with a thin layer of ice on friday but by yesterday(sunday) most of the ice had melted away. The gurgling sound of flowing water was music to the soul. So was the wild chirping of the birds and sounds of insects.
As I surveyed the idyllic scene from the comfortable beach chair on my deck I began to think about the differences between sufism and philosophical ismailism and how each might survey such a scene differently as they try to reach an understanding of God.
A sufi might look at such an enthralling scene holistically and contemplate it as a single unified scene reflecting the beauty of Allah's creation. Combining this picture with guidance from his murshid or master, a sufi could use a scene like this to meditate on as he plumbed the depths towards that all-encompassing divine love that is the goal of every sufi.
An adherent of philosophical ismailism would do the same as the sufi but would also try to do more to satisfy his intellect. He would be searching for other ways to link his intellect to his faith. He might remember the farman made by Mowlana Hazar Imam in Toronto on Wednesday, June 8th 2005 in which he said:".....Our interpretation of Islam places enormous value on knowledge. Knowledge is the reflection of faith if it is used properly. Seek out that knowledge and use it properly...."
This kind of farman has been made throughout the ages by earlier Imams and perhaps that is why proponents of philosophical ismailism used words like Intellect or Universal Intellect or Universal Soul rather that Divine Love or Divine Essence. They were interested not only in a holistic appreciation of the creation but also in the structure of truth in its minutest of detail.
Hence, Pir Nasir Khusraw wrote treatises on the structure and nature of time and space. He was interested not only in appreciating Allah's creation holistically but he was also trying to learn the science within creation because it represents the structure of truth at its most basic level.
Coming back to the scene in front of me at my cottage, I marvelled at the vista in holistic fashion but, in keeping to the farman made in Toronto in June 2005 where I was fortunate to be in that audience, I was also very interested in the minutest details of that scene because they represent the handiwork of Allah and my hope was and is that, in appreciating the 'zahir' of that vista, I might someday be able to penetrate through it to reach its 'batin'.
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)
271)Ikhwan al-Safa: An early attempt to balance revelation and reason.
11)Ikhwan al-Safa: An early attempt to balance revelation and reason.
This august group of scholars wrote and researched during the era of our our 4th and 5th Imams and their work is a fine example of the harmonious balance achieved between revelation and reason in early Ismailism. They also began the process of philosophical Ismailism, which came to full fruition during the golden century of Shia Islam(865-965CE) with the Iranian cosmologists, typified by Abu Yakub Al-Sijistani, during the Imamats of the 7th to the 14th Imams:
Rasa’il Ikhwan al-Safa’ The Ikhwan al-Safa’ (Brethren of Purity) were a coterie of scholars and thinkers affiliated with Ismailism who, in the late ninth and early tenth centuries, produced an encyclopaedic corpus of fifty-two epistles (Rasa’il). These epistles, on a wide range of subjects show awareness of Hermetic, Pythagorean, Platonic, and Aristotelian ideas, as well as elements of Iranian and Indian origins. They are grouped into four books or sections: mathematical sciences, natural sciences, intellectual sciences and theological sciences. The Library possesses a number of copies of this encyclopaedic work of which this manuscript, written in elegant naskhi script with an illuminated opening double-page, was most probably copied in Persia.
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)
This august group of scholars wrote and researched during the era of our our 4th and 5th Imams and their work is a fine example of the harmonious balance achieved between revelation and reason in early Ismailism. They also began the process of philosophical Ismailism, which came to full fruition during the golden century of Shia Islam(865-965CE) with the Iranian cosmologists, typified by Abu Yakub Al-Sijistani, during the Imamats of the 7th to the 14th Imams:
Rasa’il Ikhwan al-Safa’ The Ikhwan al-Safa’ (Brethren of Purity) were a coterie of scholars and thinkers affiliated with Ismailism who, in the late ninth and early tenth centuries, produced an encyclopaedic corpus of fifty-two epistles (Rasa’il). These epistles, on a wide range of subjects show awareness of Hermetic, Pythagorean, Platonic, and Aristotelian ideas, as well as elements of Iranian and Indian origins. They are grouped into four books or sections: mathematical sciences, natural sciences, intellectual sciences and theological sciences. The Library possesses a number of copies of this encyclopaedic work of which this manuscript, written in elegant naskhi script with an illuminated opening double-page, was most probably copied in Persia.
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)
270)Blasts from the past: Hard copies of my favourite posts from my old blog; Canadian Vision TV documentary excellent IMHO.
As the new year begins to unfold I decided that I want to put hard copies of, instead of just links to, my favourite and what I consider to be my most important doctrinal posts from my old blog onto my new blog. The next few postings will reflect this.
On another note I watched the Canadian Vision TV documentary entitled "The Aga Khan-A Voice of Reason":
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2008/01/04/the-aga-khan-%e2%80%93-a-voice-of-reason-documentary-canadian-premiere/
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2008/01/02/the-battle-for-%e2%80%9cenlightened%e2%80%9d-islam/
I came away from watching this documentary feeling very positive. My comment on the Facebook site describing this feature was:
"I watched this documentary on Canadian Vision TV on Sat Jan 5th at 10pm ET. It was thoroughly enjoyable. I was left with a warm and snug feeling at the end. Congratulations to everyone involved with this production":
http://apps.facebook.com/aga_khan/campaign_memberships/home
I highly recommend that everyone either watch this documentary or, better still, purchase the dvd:
http://www.agakhanfilm.org/buy_now.asp
You can also attend the London, U.K. premiere of this documentary:
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2008/01/04/european-premier-in-london-of-islamic-conscience-movie-the-aga-khan-and-the-ismailis/
Ismaili Mail has a link to all blogs related to this documentary:
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/category/documentary/
Also, a reminder to all to check out my new 4-quote signature below after my name.
For my thoughts on "God's creation":
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2007/12/263the-creation-according-to-quran-and.html
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)
On another note I watched the Canadian Vision TV documentary entitled "The Aga Khan-A Voice of Reason":
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2008/01/04/the-aga-khan-%e2%80%93-a-voice-of-reason-documentary-canadian-premiere/
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2008/01/02/the-battle-for-%e2%80%9cenlightened%e2%80%9d-islam/
I came away from watching this documentary feeling very positive. My comment on the Facebook site describing this feature was:
"I watched this documentary on Canadian Vision TV on Sat Jan 5th at 10pm ET. It was thoroughly enjoyable. I was left with a warm and snug feeling at the end. Congratulations to everyone involved with this production":
http://apps.facebook.com/aga_khan/campaign_memberships/home
I highly recommend that everyone either watch this documentary or, better still, purchase the dvd:
http://www.agakhanfilm.org/buy_now.asp
You can also attend the London, U.K. premiere of this documentary:
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2008/01/04/european-premier-in-london-of-islamic-conscience-movie-the-aga-khan-and-the-ismailis/
Ismaili Mail has a link to all blogs related to this documentary:
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/category/documentary/
Also, a reminder to all to check out my new 4-quote signature below after my name.
For my thoughts on "God's creation":
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2007/12/263the-creation-according-to-quran-and.html
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)
Friday, January 4, 2008
269)2006 Aga Khan University Convocation Speech featured at recent Knowledge Symposium in Canada(December 2007)
Excerpt of the 2006 Convocation speech made by Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness Aga Khan IV, at the Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan:
"......That quest for a better life, among Muslims and non-Muslims alike, must lead inevitably to the Knowledge Society which is developing in our time. The great and central question facing the Ummah of today is how it will relate to the Knowledge Society of tomorrow.
If we judge from Islamic history, there is much to encourage us. For century after century, the Arabs, the Persians, the Turks and many other Islamic societies achieved powerful leadership roles in the world-not only politically and economically but also intellectually. Some ill-informed historians and biased commentators have tried to argue that these successes were essentially produced by military power, but this view is profoundly incorrect. The fundamental reason for the pre-eminence of Islamic civilizations lay neither in accidents of history nor in acts of war, but rather in their ability to discover new knowledge, to make it their own, and to build constructively upon it. They became the Knowledge Societies of their time.
Those times are over now. They are long gone. But if some people have forgotten or ignored this history, much of the Ummah remembers it-and, in remembering, asks how those times might be recaptured. There may be as many answers to that question as there are Muslims-but one answer which can be shared across the whole of the Ummah is that we must become full and even leading participants in the Knowledge Society of the 21st Century.
That will mean embracing the values of collaboration and coordination, openness and partnership, choice and diversity-which will under-gird the Knowledge Society, learning constantly to review and revise and renew what we think we know - learning how to go on learning.
The spirit of the Knowledge Society is the spirit of Pluralism-a readiness to accept the Other, indeed to learn from him, to see difference as an opportunity rather than a threat.
Such a spirit must be rooted, I believe, in a sense of humility before the Divine, realizing that none of us have all the answers, and respecting the broad variety of God's creation and the diversity of the Human Family.
As the Ummah moves into the Knowledge Society, a variety of questions and choices will arise. And this brings us back to where we started. For my singular goal for the Aga Khan University, the University of Central Asia, and related institutions is that they should play a central role in addressing those questions and in guiding those choices.
Priority setting will be a particularly important challenge. One of the problems of the Knowledge Society is that it produces too much information. I recall President Nixon acknowledging publicly more than 30 years ago his dismay at the sheer volume of information that the President was expected to absorb daily. In such a world we can easily lose track of the forest by seeing only the trees. As a poet lamented: "Where is the Wisdom we have lost in Knowledge. Where is the Knowledge we have lost in Information?" As we work our way back again from Information to Knowledge and from Knowledge to Wisdom, a rigorous sense of priorities will be a central requirement.
But just how should the Ummah set its priorities as it embraces the Knowledge Society? Can we determine, for example, what areas of knowledge are needed in the greatest urgency, or those that will be needed for as long as we can predict? Are there specificities to the needs of the Ummah which it should seek to draw from, or instill, into the global knowledge society of tomorrow? In ethics? In the balance of world and spirit? Or in more worldly issues such as stem cell research, or nuclear non-proliferation versus global access to nuclear energy. I am not arguing that the Ummah as a whole will share similar priorities on every subject. But there may be subjects where the specific needs of the Ummah should shape our research agenda. Universities are the correct fora, but no doubt not the only ones, in which such questions should be raised, and intelligent answers developed from the best of minds.
In addressing such questions, including those with special relevance to the Ummah, we must also recognize that learning has become a global enterprise. There was a time when a single society or empire could live unto itself, culturally and intellectually-claiming dominance over other places. But that was when knowledge traveled slowly-and could be seen as a local resource. That day too has passed. In the age of the internet, knowledge is universally shaped, universally accessible, and universally applied. And successful institutions of learning must be global institutions.
That is why the Aga Khan University must make the years ahead a time to broaden our networks, broaden our teaching and broaden our geographic reach.
This can happen in a variety of ways. We are already, for example, planning a new curriculum in the liberal arts-expanding our role as a comprehensive learning institution. We are also developing new programs in fields such as architecture and human settlement; law; management of for-profit and not-for-profit institutions; government, civil society and public policy; leisure and tourism; media and communications; science and technology; and human development.
We are strengthening our research activities. Universities have a special obligation to produce new knowledge-though always within ethical bounds. But in the Knowledge Society, productive research is most often partnership research -as Universities work closely with businesses, industrial associations, engineering centers and scientific laboratories-sharing agendas and exchanging insights. New knowledge is a constantly unfolding gift of God-but it is rarely something that is achieved in isolation.
We will be building alliances with other Universities around the world-opening study and research opportunities for students and faculties alike. The result will be the development of truly global citizens, graduates who have studied in a variety of places-among people from a variety of backgrounds, fostering a better understanding of a diverse and complex world. In an era of breath-taking change and bewildering complexity, we choose not to pull back or to settle down, but instead to reach out and push forward.
The path we have chosen is not easy to chart-and it is certainly not risk free. But it is both a necessary and an exciting road-filled with the promise of high adventure.
Even as our University moves on down such a path, so I hope will each of you-in your own personal lives. For wherever you go, this University also goes-we are inevitably a part of one another's future.
It is both a perplexing and an exciting new world that we enter today-and it should be supremely reassuring and inspiring to all of us that we can enter it together.
Thank you."
http://www.aku.edu/News/Con2006/spchdel-HH.shtml
Spark of Knowledge Golden Jubilee program:
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2008/01/03/knowledge-discovery-challenge/
http://educationboard.ca/spark/index.php
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)
"......That quest for a better life, among Muslims and non-Muslims alike, must lead inevitably to the Knowledge Society which is developing in our time. The great and central question facing the Ummah of today is how it will relate to the Knowledge Society of tomorrow.
If we judge from Islamic history, there is much to encourage us. For century after century, the Arabs, the Persians, the Turks and many other Islamic societies achieved powerful leadership roles in the world-not only politically and economically but also intellectually. Some ill-informed historians and biased commentators have tried to argue that these successes were essentially produced by military power, but this view is profoundly incorrect. The fundamental reason for the pre-eminence of Islamic civilizations lay neither in accidents of history nor in acts of war, but rather in their ability to discover new knowledge, to make it their own, and to build constructively upon it. They became the Knowledge Societies of their time.
Those times are over now. They are long gone. But if some people have forgotten or ignored this history, much of the Ummah remembers it-and, in remembering, asks how those times might be recaptured. There may be as many answers to that question as there are Muslims-but one answer which can be shared across the whole of the Ummah is that we must become full and even leading participants in the Knowledge Society of the 21st Century.
That will mean embracing the values of collaboration and coordination, openness and partnership, choice and diversity-which will under-gird the Knowledge Society, learning constantly to review and revise and renew what we think we know - learning how to go on learning.
The spirit of the Knowledge Society is the spirit of Pluralism-a readiness to accept the Other, indeed to learn from him, to see difference as an opportunity rather than a threat.
Such a spirit must be rooted, I believe, in a sense of humility before the Divine, realizing that none of us have all the answers, and respecting the broad variety of God's creation and the diversity of the Human Family.
As the Ummah moves into the Knowledge Society, a variety of questions and choices will arise. And this brings us back to where we started. For my singular goal for the Aga Khan University, the University of Central Asia, and related institutions is that they should play a central role in addressing those questions and in guiding those choices.
Priority setting will be a particularly important challenge. One of the problems of the Knowledge Society is that it produces too much information. I recall President Nixon acknowledging publicly more than 30 years ago his dismay at the sheer volume of information that the President was expected to absorb daily. In such a world we can easily lose track of the forest by seeing only the trees. As a poet lamented: "Where is the Wisdom we have lost in Knowledge. Where is the Knowledge we have lost in Information?" As we work our way back again from Information to Knowledge and from Knowledge to Wisdom, a rigorous sense of priorities will be a central requirement.
But just how should the Ummah set its priorities as it embraces the Knowledge Society? Can we determine, for example, what areas of knowledge are needed in the greatest urgency, or those that will be needed for as long as we can predict? Are there specificities to the needs of the Ummah which it should seek to draw from, or instill, into the global knowledge society of tomorrow? In ethics? In the balance of world and spirit? Or in more worldly issues such as stem cell research, or nuclear non-proliferation versus global access to nuclear energy. I am not arguing that the Ummah as a whole will share similar priorities on every subject. But there may be subjects where the specific needs of the Ummah should shape our research agenda. Universities are the correct fora, but no doubt not the only ones, in which such questions should be raised, and intelligent answers developed from the best of minds.
In addressing such questions, including those with special relevance to the Ummah, we must also recognize that learning has become a global enterprise. There was a time when a single society or empire could live unto itself, culturally and intellectually-claiming dominance over other places. But that was when knowledge traveled slowly-and could be seen as a local resource. That day too has passed. In the age of the internet, knowledge is universally shaped, universally accessible, and universally applied. And successful institutions of learning must be global institutions.
That is why the Aga Khan University must make the years ahead a time to broaden our networks, broaden our teaching and broaden our geographic reach.
This can happen in a variety of ways. We are already, for example, planning a new curriculum in the liberal arts-expanding our role as a comprehensive learning institution. We are also developing new programs in fields such as architecture and human settlement; law; management of for-profit and not-for-profit institutions; government, civil society and public policy; leisure and tourism; media and communications; science and technology; and human development.
We are strengthening our research activities. Universities have a special obligation to produce new knowledge-though always within ethical bounds. But in the Knowledge Society, productive research is most often partnership research -as Universities work closely with businesses, industrial associations, engineering centers and scientific laboratories-sharing agendas and exchanging insights. New knowledge is a constantly unfolding gift of God-but it is rarely something that is achieved in isolation.
We will be building alliances with other Universities around the world-opening study and research opportunities for students and faculties alike. The result will be the development of truly global citizens, graduates who have studied in a variety of places-among people from a variety of backgrounds, fostering a better understanding of a diverse and complex world. In an era of breath-taking change and bewildering complexity, we choose not to pull back or to settle down, but instead to reach out and push forward.
The path we have chosen is not easy to chart-and it is certainly not risk free. But it is both a necessary and an exciting road-filled with the promise of high adventure.
Even as our University moves on down such a path, so I hope will each of you-in your own personal lives. For wherever you go, this University also goes-we are inevitably a part of one another's future.
It is both a perplexing and an exciting new world that we enter today-and it should be supremely reassuring and inspiring to all of us that we can enter it together.
Thank you."
http://www.aku.edu/News/Con2006/spchdel-HH.shtml
Spark of Knowledge Golden Jubilee program:
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2008/01/03/knowledge-discovery-challenge/
http://educationboard.ca/spark/index.php
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)
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