The Scientific The Scientific Miracle - Life before Adam & Death in Quran - Part 10 Source: http://www.usislam.org/96life.htm Copyright © By Dr. Adel Elsaie, Book Title: "History of Truth, The Truth about God and Religions" Life before Adam The Quran refers to life forms before Adam's creation in a fascinating discussion between Allah and His Angel, as follow: Surah 2, Ayah 30 "Behold, thy Lord said to the angels: "I will create a vicegerent on earth." They said: "Wilt Thou place therein one who will make mischief and shed blood? Whilst we celebrate Thy praise and glorify Thy holy (name)?" He said: "I know what you know not" Allah informed the Angels that He will create man on earth. They wondered and referred to a previous creation that had shed blood. This was not an objection to God's Will. It was a surprise that Allah would create man with free will, which may ultimately lead to mischief on earth. It would seem that the Angels, though holy and pure, and endued with power from Allah, represented only one side of the purpose of Creation. We may imagine them without passion or emotion. If man was to be endued with emotions, these emotions could elate him or destroy him. The power of will or choosing is dominated by emotions, such that man may steer his own course. We may assume the Angels had no independent will of their own. Their perfection, in other words, reflected Allah's perfection, but could not elevate them to the dignity of vicegerency. The utmost vicegerent is he who has the power of initiative himself, but whose independent action always reflects precisely the will of God. The Angels in their one-sidedness saw only the consequence of mischief and blood shedding by this new creation. In humility and true devotion to Allah, they were surprised. One must not imagine the least trace of jealousy, as they are without emotions. We know that the Angels have no way of foreseeing the future, which only belongs to God. So the question arises: How were they able to reference the acts of mischief and bloodshed? It must be from their previous or present knowledge, but not from knowledge of the future. Their statement could only mean one thing. They were referring to animals or other creatures on earth that existed before Adam that were killing each other. Their reference to these creatures before the creation of man coincides with our knowledge of the fossil record. And God knows the Best. Death Philosophers and scientists have many concepts of life and death. A vast amount of superstition as well as imaginative and psychological literature has grown about life and death. But the simplest and the truest religious concept are stated here in few words. And, there is only one fact about death that is stated in the Quran as follows: Surah 67, Ayah 2 "He Who created death and life, that He may try which of you is best in deed" Death and life are both creations of God as a means of testing human deeds. Death is put before life, and is, therefore, not merely a negative state to life. Death, then, is the state before true life begins and is the state in which life as we know it ceases to exist. Creation of death and life, like any other creation, is not without purpose with respect to man. We can barely understand the states before or after our present life. But our present life is clearly given to enable us to strive by good deeds to reach a more noble state. As one studies the Quran, one feels that Allah gives answers to many questions that linger in one's mind. He gives examples to make a difficult concept of the unseen closer to human grasp. For example, resurrection is made analogous to a land that seems dead in the winter, and as rain falls in the spring, it is brought back to life: Surah 50, Ayah 9-11 "And We send down from the sky rain charged with blessing, and We produce therewith gardens and grain for harvest. And the tall (and stately) Palm-trees, with shoots of fruit-stalks, piled one over another. As sustenance for (Allah's) servants; And We give (new) life therewith to land that is dead: thus will be the resurrection." This similarity between the resurrection and the process of bringing life out of dead land is repeated in many other verses. But how many people notice the tiny plants when they are returned to life and start turning green? How many people relate this process to the resurrection and the Day of Judgment? How many people watch this resurrection of the plants with humility and reflection? Humans see resurrection at least once every year and most are idle to this miraculous process. Death is also treated in the same fashion. Some people claim that there are no facts in this life except what we can see when we are awake. Yet, these same people die and return to life every day. They move from one state, with its governing laws, to a different state, with completely different laws each day without knowing or thinking about it. Allah Says: Surah 39, Ayah 42 "It is Allah that takes the soul (of men) at death; And those that die not (He takes) during their sleep: those on whom He has passed the decree of death, He keeps back (from returning to life), but the rest He sends (to their bodies) for a term appointed. Verily in this are signs for those who reflect" The similarity between death and sleep is made obvious in this Ayah. When man is awake, he sees physical things in our space and time. But when he sleeps, he moves to another world not subject to any known laws. He moves beyond space, time and gravity. He does not feel the passing of time. He may sleep in the dark and see the sunlight, or sleep during the day and see the dark night in his dream. He does not even know the duration of time that he slept. During sleep, man is completely isolated and separated from the physical world. He sees with his eyes closed! He walks and runs with his feet in bed! He falls down from a mountain, yet there is not a single injury to his body. He cries with tears and laughs without noise during his dreams. He travels in an airplane, crosses continents and oceans in few seconds. This movement from a physical state to a spiritual state is a Mercy from the Merciful. He graced us with the perception that when we sleep, we move to a spiritual world; and when we wake, He returns our souls back to our bodies. Why? For man to understand death; for man to become familiar with his next state; for man to know that the physical laws are not the only laws in the world; for man to believe in his Creator. And all that happens every night. So we see death every night as we see resurrection every spring. Yet, there are those who deny these obvious facts. The real mystery of life and death, sleep and dream is a fascinating puzzle, but, then again, Allah gave us pieces to this puzzle. His Mercy brings many abstract religious concepts to human level and comprehension: Sleeping is a vivid example of death. Bringing life to the land in the spring is a vivid example of resurrection. The best life on earth is a vivid example of heaven. Earthly fire is a vivid example of hellfire. What is sleep? As far as human life is concerned, it is the cessation of the working of the nervous system. Yet, other human functions, such as digestion, growth, and the circulation of blood, continue, possibly at a different pace. The mental processes are also suspended in sleep except those that deal with recollections, which are present vividly in our subconscious. But there are other kinds of dreams in which the dreamer sees things as they actually happen, backwards or forwards in time, or in which gifted individuals see spiritual truths otherwise invisible to them. How can we explain this? It is stated in the above Ayah that our souls go to a plane of spiritual existence analogous to physical death. In poetic imagery, "Sleep is the twin brother of Death." During sleep or "minideath", our souls are, for a period of time, released from the bondage of flesh. Allah reclaims them during this time. If, as some do, we are to die peacefully in sleep, our souls do not come back to the physical body that, then, decays and dies. If our time to die has not yet dawned allowing us to fulfill our lives according to God's Will, our souls return to our bodies, and we resume our functions in life. If we are to contemplate these concepts, we can clearly see many spiritual truths: That life and death are not the only elements of our existence. That in our bodily life, we may be dead in the spiritual world, and our bodily death may be our awakening to the spiritual world. That death is only a short visit to the grave. That our nightly sleep, besides performing the function of rest in our physical life, gives us a foretaste of what we call death, which does not cease our personality. That the resurrection is very similar to our daily rising from sleep. That sleep is analogous to death. That this life is not the true eternal life. It will end by death. That death is not an eternal process. It will end by the resurrection. Allah calls every living human in this world dead, i.e. man is destined to death. For that, Allah addresses the Prophet by saying: Surah 39, Ayah 30 "Truly thou wilt die (one day), and truly they (too) will die (one day)." The literal translation of this Aya is "Truly you are dead, and truly they (too) are dead" The above Ayah was intended for the Prophet and his companions, who were alive during the time of the revelation. So why did Allah refer to them as dead? He is reminding humanity of their destiny. The above Ayah is unfathomable to anyone who assumes that he is still alive. When a human is born, the arrow of death is released simultaneously. This arrow searches for the human throughout his life. In one instance, the search is over, the arrow of death finds its companion, and the human dies. Why should death be an important aspect of our life? Because human life is based, wrongly, on greed, which is the continuous passion for seeking an increase in wealth, position, the number of followers or supporters, mass production and mass organization. This greed affects most people as it affects entire societies or nations. The greed in man's nature may be limitless if not controlled; the more we receive, the more we want. This obsession distracts us from the true purpose of life. People's rivalry in such things aggravates the situation. To a certain point, it may be good and necessary. But when it becomes an obsession and a competition for the gain of more materialistic things, it leaves no time for higher and noble planes of existence. And most humans, when they are engulfed in this piling up process, deny that they have reached a critical state, and always justify their actions. And this ugly case of greed is justified as a means for achieving a noble purpose for humanity! The piling up scenario continues until one lays down for a long nap in the grave, forgetting exactly just what he fought for. The true reality will then be clear before you. And Who can explain this better than Allah: Surah 102, Ayah 1-2 "The mutual rivalry for pilling up (the good things of the world) diverts you (from the more serious business). Until you visit the graves" Source: http://www.usislam.org/96life.htm