PROPHET MUHAMMAD’S PHYSICAL ASCENSION (ME’RÃJ) TO THE HEAVENS IN THE LIGHT OF SCIENCE AND THE QUR’ÃN
RABBUL ‘ÃLAMÎN means Sustainer of all the worlds and all beings. The root word of Rabb is “Rubba”, one of the attributes of Allāh, which means “provision of sustenance from moment to moment to an object, from the beginning to its final destination”. Sustenance could be physical, intellectual, moral or spiritual, best suited for that particular creature. Everyone’s sustenance is recorded in a book (Quran 11:6). He is the Rabb of the East and the West (Quran 70:40). Note the plural. This is because there are many worlds in far-off galaxies with their own solar systems, with each world having its own East and its own West.
“’Ãlamîn” means “worlds” or “galaxies”. It is also translated as “all beings”, and hence Rabbul Alamin is sometimes translated as sustainer of all beings. It was estimated many years ago that there were likely 600 million habitable planets in our galaxy alone. It would be impossible to count the number of planets in the whole universe, because, according to recent scientific evidence, the universe is expanding. As the universe expands the most distant objects move away from the earth at nearly the speed of light. Every second that passes, millions of planets are being born, which are billions of times larger than our earth and trillions of light years away from each other, light traveling at a speed of 186,282 miles/second. When we look at the stars, we are peering back into time, because the light from these objects has traveled millions and billions of years to reach us.
In each planet, there are different types of worlds belonging to different creatures of different dimensions. Man is a three dimensional creature. The holy Quran mentions about creatures of different dimensions, some invisible, e.g. Angels, Iblis (satan). Ruh (soul) and Jinn (created from fire), which are all beyond the scope of our imagination and scientific investigation. Yet they are all created beings.
Some sixty years ago, visible light was the only tool for studying the distant universe. Then with the advent of radio astronomy, followed by infrared, X-ray and gamma ray detection devices, further research was made possible. Recently, gravitational waves, which carry a different kind of energy, altogether, gave new information about the universe, and gravitational laboratories planned for the next decade, could very well detect extra-galactic signals from outer space.
Our galaxy is one of billions. Distant galaxies are RECEDING in all directions, as measured by the Doppler effect.
So verily, I call to witness the planets that recede. (Quran 81:15) The distance to the nearest cluster of galaxies is estimated to be about 300 million light years. The universe is expanding at an ever-increasing rate and the galaxies are receding at a tremendous speed, pointed out in the holy Quran over 1,400 years ago:
With power and skill, we did construct the universe. Verily we are expanding it. (Quran 51:47).
Allah says that there are living beings in other parts of the universe also.
And among his signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the living creatures that he has scattered through them. (Quran 42:29). Assuming that they have existed million of years before us, they may be more advanced (human or other) beings than ourselves.
Although some Muslims still believe that the meraj was a spiritual ascent with Allah unveiling the guarded tablet called Lawhae Mahfooz and transferring its contents to Prophet Muhammad’s brain, I have theorized the practicality of the physical ascension of the Meraj, a theory that does not deserve to be ignored, and not beyond the scope of Allah’s Power. Just as the professor of physics or chemistry, after the lecture, takes us to the laboratory to demonstrate and prove the findings, similarly, Allah, after having tutored Prophet Muhammad, PBUH, took him to his laboratory (the Cosmos) to show him his practical demonstration.
Prophet Muhammad, PBUH, did not have an earthly teacher (Q.4: 113; 53:5; 2:239). He was tutored by Allah Himself. Allah does not make anyone privy to His mysteries except a messenger of his choosing (Q.72: 26,27). There are many verses in the Holy Quran in which Allah says that the prophet was sent to teach the Quran and scientific knowledge leading to wisdom (Al-Hikmah) (Q.62: 2 and others); that is, knowledge of life and its laws, and the understanding of the universe and also any other new knowledge that would come to light from time to time in the future (Q.2: 151).
Could it be possible for Allah to arrange transportation for His chosen one for a celestial journey at the speed of light (186,282 miles/sec.) or even faster to a location in the universe wherein dwell beings more scientifically advanced than ourselves so that the prophet could see for himself the technology which did not yet exist at that time on planet Earth?
Whereas this unorthodox treatment may appear absurd to some, let it not be forgotten that a new theory is first attacked by a few as being ridiculous with many to prove its absurdity; then it is admitted to be true but insignificant, with some champions to defend it. Finally, it is seen to be so important that its adversaries claim they themselves discovered it.
Science is not only compatible with spirituality but it is a profound source. Rejection of scientific truths and logic is also eroding support for the teaching of critical thinking which is the basis of scientific research. It is also not impossible that sometime in the distant future when space technology is far advanced and interplanetary communications easy, that we will be able to contact the same planet that our leader Prophet Muhammad, PBUH, had visited. Moreover, divine and supernatural events may not be proven by human scientific theories presently available. Evidence may come at a future date as we advance in the domain of scientific research and space technology. Absence of evidence now does not mean evidence of absence.
Just a few salient features about the Meraj or the Ascension of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), which leaves not doubt in our minds that it was a physical ascent by both the body and soul, in a state of wakefulness, alertness and complete consciousness. At age fifty two, probably on 27th Rajab, before the year of the Hijrah (migration) from which the Muslim calendar began, the Prophet’s ascension took place; 27th of Rajab is an important milestone in the life of Prophet Muhammad, PBUH, and also a highly significant reminder to us of the special gift from Allah of the minimum five-times daily prayers.
a) On that date, Allah, swt, honored prophet Muhammad, PBUH, by transporting him to the heavens and showing him a panorama of the cosmos, where Allah also tutored him in various sciences. (Einstein’s theory of relativity may well give the answer as to how a couple of hours in space equal many years on this earth. Prophet Muhammad said that he had spent the equivalent of 27 years in his Me’raj; yet his bed was warm on his return).
b) On that date, Prophet Muhammad was mandated that Muslims should pray a minimum of five-times daily salat, reduced from the original 50 times. If Allah rewards every good deed ten times, then the five-times daily prayers will be rewarded the original 50 times, because prayer is also a good deed.
c) On that date, an important conversation took place between Allah, swt, and Prophet Muhammad, PBUH, which is rehearsed many times daily by millions of muslims of Muslims all over the world, soon after they sit down after the second prostration (sajdah) to recite the tashahhud (Declaration of Faith), also called A-tahiyyat (greetings), because Prophet Muhammad, PBUH, brought greetings to Allah, swt, on behalf of himself and also on behalf of his followers. (The text of the conversation is cited below).
It has been reported that the Prophet’s chest was opened, the heart removed, washed and re-inserted. (Was this the first-ever open-heart surgery)?
It began with a night journey to Masjid al Aqsa.
Then he crossed seven heavens with Angel Jibrail (Alayhis Salam) and met all the great prophets who welcomed him. In the seventh heaven, he was carried by Jibrail up to the furthest lote-tree (Sidratul muntaha). The Angel Jibrail and he parted because Angel Jibrail could not go any further, lest his wings would have been burnt. The prophet went further again until he was two boe-lengths (Qabi Qawsain Q53:9), approximately 100-150 yards, from Allah’s Majestic throne (Arsh) when he presented greetings to Allah, the conversation running thus:
Prophet Muhammad, PBUH:
Greetings to Allah, and all praises and reverence.
Allah, swt, replies:
Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and Mercy and Blessings of Allah.
Our Prophet replied:
Peace be upon us and upon all the righteous servants. I bear witness that there is no deity to be worshipped except Allah.
Allah, swt, continues:
I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.
And then, all the Angels and others present in the heavens echoed:
O Allah, shower thy blessings on Muhammad and on his descendants.
We repeat this conversation between Allah and Prophet Muhammad, PBUH, in every tashahhud, many times daily, constantly reminding us about this Me’raj or the celestial journey. Prophet Muhammad said: “Prayer is the Meraj of the Mu’minin”. Mu’minin are those Muslims who declare AND practice their faith with firm conviction.
“Glory to (Allah) Who did CARRY His Servant for a journey by night from the sacred mosque to the farthest mosque, whose precincts We did bless in order that we might show him some of Our signs: Lo! Only He is the Hearer, the Seer” (Quran 17:1). And now read the Quran verses Chapter 53:1 to 18 for the facts. Allah Himself swears by the star, to convince us that it was a celestial event.
“By the star that goes down;
Your companion is neither stray nor being misled:
Nor does he speak of (his own) desire;
It is no less than an inspiration sent down to him;
He was taught by One mighty in power;
Endowed with wisdom; for he appeared clear to view;
When he was on the highest part of the horizon;
Then he approached and came closer
And was at a distance of two bows lengths or (even) nearer
So did He reveal to His servant what He (meant) to reveal
The (Prophet’s mind and) heart no way falsified what he saw
Will you then dispute with him what he saw?
For indeed he saw him at a second descent;
Near the lote-tree beyond which none may pass;
Near it is the Garden of Abode;
Lo, the Lote-tree was shrouded (in mystery unspeakable)
His eye never swerved, nor did it go wrong!
Truly he saw one of the greatest signs of his Sustainer!
Allah wanted to SHOW Prophet His signs
(Quran 17:1) and the Prophet, PBUH, truly did SEE one of the Greatest Signs of his Sustainer.
(Quran 53:18). To SEE with the naked eye was the sole purpose of the journey. The Prophet SAW everything that Allah wished him to see for himself with his own eyes. His eyes were steady and he did not look hither and thither:
“His eyes never swerved nor did it go wrong!” (Quran 53:17).
DREAM is a vague and a common experience. People see extraordinary and fantastic dreams and they do not believe them to be true. We do not say “Subhanallah” or Glory to Allah whenever we see such dreams. Only if something is real does it strike us to utter the word “Subhanallah” or Glory to Allah. Please note that in Quran 17:1, the verse begins with “Glory to Him”.
This signifies something unusual and extremely important that Allah was going to reveal to him. Allah wanted to SHOW him some of the signs. (Quran 17:1), and Allah made sure that Prophet SAW convincingly the Greatest Signs for himself.
(Quran 53:18). The Prophet, PBUH, SAW everything in detail, very clearly and in full consciousness. His eyes did not waver. EXACTLY what was shown to him by Allah was EXACTLY what he saw.
“His mind and heart in no way falsified what he saw” (Quran 53:11).
EVERY line in the Quran is a Wahy or a revelation. Revelation is not a conjecture nor a dream nor a mystical experience. Revelation is realty, the message being brought by an Angel (Jibrail) from Allah to Prophet Muhammad, PBUH.
Prophet used to have many dreams, and in the morning he would narrate them to his companions. But he never referred to Isra and Meraj as a dream. It was a Wahy (Q. 53:4; 10 and Q.17: 1).
The facts are that verses (Quran 17:1) and (Quran 53:1 to 18) are incidents recorded as Wahy (Revelations) and NOT as dreams (Quran 53:4; 10):
Inni ara fil manami anni azbahuka” meaning “I see in a dream that I shall sacrifice you”. Similarly in Q.8: 43. a) ‘Abdihi” in Q.17: 1 and in Q.53: 10 is mentioned, meaning “His servant”. A servant comprises a body AND soul. Allah did not mention “Ruh” i.e. “soul” in this verse. (Body and soul part from each other at time of death).
“Asra bi’Abdihi” signifies that our Prophet was carried bodily alive and not in a dream. b) Umme Hani(r.A.) reported that she did not see the Prophet in his bed that night when she woke up. A search was made for him and still he could not be found. Had it been a vision, a dream or spiritual journey, he should have still been lying in bed! C) When Prophet Muhammad returned from his Ascension journey, some people asked him:
“Oh Rasulallah, how did the earth look from up there?” he replied:
“A dinar in a sea of sand”. Who did know that the earthwas a globe floating in this galaxy? What the astronauts saw the earth from space a few years ago was what Prophet Muhammad saw 15 centuries ago! The earth looked like a coin!
d) The translation of 17:1 should be carefully studied, whereinAllah says: “Glory to (Allah) who did CARRY His servant…” If it was a dream or a vision, or if “the Prophet was carried away spiritually”, then the services of Buraq would NOT have been required, since animals and other carriages are used to transport BODIES and not spirit, nor Ruh.
e) E) To deny the Meraj being a real physical journey and a reality is to deny the Quran and the Prophet himself.
“What! Do you then dispute as to what he saw”? (Quran 53:12)
“Sadaqalla hul azim” meaning Allah speaks the Truth. Also Prophet Muhammad, PBUH, was known as Al-Amin, because he always spoke the truth.
SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE COSMOS OBTAINED DURING MERAJ
If not during the Meraj, when and where else could Prophet Muhammad have obtained so much scientific knowledge about the cosmos? In the special case of the Final Messenger, it is likely that Allah DEMONSTRATED to him during his space journey, some or all of the Revelations sent by Him through Angel Jibrail (Alayhis Salam), so that our Prophet could SEE for himself the proofs. Was it possible for Allah to arrange transportation for him during his space journey in a flying object called “Buraq”, which had the shape of an animal the size of which was between a mule and a donkey and which shot into space with the speed of light at 186,282 miles/second or even faster (“Buraq” being derived from the Arabic word “Barq” meaning lightening) to one or more of the planets inhabited by beings more advanced than ourselves in technology and in other sciences, so that our Prophet could SEE unmistakably with his naked eyes phenomena, advanced research and ultra-modern devices not yet present on earth? In support of this conclusion, the following bear stunning testimony:
(1) Was there a demonstration for Prophet Muhammad, PBUH, of a computerized, highly sophisticated machine comprising electroencephalograph, electrocardiograph, electromyography and other instruments, or was there also a videocassette in 4-dimensional viewing of all our thoughts, intensions and actions?
(This present television set that we possess in this century gives us a picture in two dimensions only, viz. length and breadth. Depth is the third dimension and Time the fourth. This present T.V. set can record our actions, not our thoughts). Read the following verses:
a) “On the day of judgment, YOU will read your own record” (Quran 17:13-14).
b) “This our record speaks about you with Truth. Lo! We have caused to put on record ALL that you did” (Quran 45:29).
c) On that day, when their tongues, their hands and their feet will bear witness against them as to what they used to do (Q.24: 24).
d) “On that day, we shall set a seal on their mouths, but their hands speak out and their feet bear witness to all what they did”. (Q.36: 65).
e) “At length, when they reach the (fire), their hearing, their sight and their skins will bear witness against them as to what they used to do”. (Q.41: 20)
f) “On that Day will men proceed in scattered groups to be SHOWN the deeds that they (had done). Then anyone who has done an atom’s weight of good shall SEE it! And anyone who has done an atom’s weight of evil shall SEE it!” (Q.99: 6,7,8).
(2) During Meraj did the Prophet Muhammad, PBUH, see any living creatures on any other planet? Did he see chaste women with beautiful, large and lustrous eyes like pearls and restraining glances, and of equal age, and with passing round of a cup with tasty drink, which does not give the withdrawal effect or hangover?
Read the following verses:
“And among His Signs is the creation of the heavens and the Earth, and the LIVING creatures He has scattered through them…”(Q.42: 29)
(b) “And beside them will be chaste women, restraining their glances, with their big eyes, as if they were eggs, closely guarded”.(Q.37:48-49)
(c) “So, and We shall join them to companions with beautiful, big and lustrous eyes” (Q.44: 54 and Q.52: 20).
(d) “Companions of equal age” (Q.78: 33).
(e) “With goblets, beakers and cups (filled) out of clear flowing fountains. No after ache will they receive there from nor will they suffer intoxication. And (there will be) companions with beautiful, big lustrous eyes, like unto pearls, well guarded. We have created (their companions) of Special Creation” (Q.56: 18,19,22,23,35)
(f) “In them will be (maidens) chaste, restraining their glances, whom no man or Jinn before them has touched” (Q.55: 56).
(g) “And beside them will be chaste women restraining their glances, (companions) of equal age” (Q.38: 52).
(3) Did Prophet, PBUH, see cloned people, EXACTLY alike?
(Cloning is a form of asexual reproduction which can make an EXACT duplicate).
“It is We Who created them and we have made them and We have made their joints strong. But when We will, We can substitute the LIKE of them by a complete change” (Q.76: 28).
(4) Did Prophet see hydroponics, with floating gardens ON water?
“But give glad tidings to those who believe AND work righteousness that their portion is gardens, BENEATH which rivers flow”(Q.2: 25 and 38 other verses).
Besides photosynthesis, what part does the green color play in other science?
(a)“They will be adorned with bracelets of gold/silver, and they will wear GREEN garments of fine silk” (Q.18:31; 76:21).
(b)“Reclining on GREEN cushions and lovely carpets” (Q.55:76).
(c) Green light inhabits melatonin production, a hormone produced by the pineal gland, which is responsible for sleep. It is likely that in Paradise we would not need sleep.
(5)How did Prophet know that EVERY animal was created from water? Were the three layers of the human embryo, (ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm) shown to the Prophet under electron microscope? How did Prophet know that the human embryo hangs like a stalk (‘Alaq)?
(a)“And Allah has created EVERY animal from water” (Q24:45).
(b)“He makes you in the womb of your mothers, in stages, one after another, in three stages of darkness” (Q.39:6)
(c) “Then we made the ‘sperm drop’ into a hanging stalk” (Q.23: 14; 40:67; 22:5; 75:37-38)
(6) Was Prophet shown fingerprinting, and others like DNA printing?
“Nay, on the Day of Resurrection, We are able to put together in perfect order the very tips of your fingers”(Q.75:4).
(7) Not having gone to a medical school, how did the Prophet, PBUH, know that one could be pregnant and still could menstruating for the first three months after conception?
“ And for such of your women who have passed the age of monthly coursed, if ye doubt, their period of (waiting) shall be three months, along with those who have it not” (Qur’an 65:4)
(8) Did Prophet Muhammad know about “suspended animation” when a person can sleep for 300 years? Read Q18: 25
(9) Was he shown “genetic engineering” where an animal could speak when its cell I joined to a human’s? (Such experiments are going on presently). Read Q27: 82.
(10) A. The Earth rotates on its axis at a speed of 1,037 miles/hour at the equator (nearly the same as in Trinidad). (We are constantly moving at twice the speed of a jet plane and we don’t even feel is)! It takes 24 hrs. to move n\once on its axis. A year is the time it takes the Earth to travel once around the sun, at a speed of 66,672 miles per hour in an elliptical orbit. With the Earth rotating on itself at 1,037 MPH and around the sun at 66,672 MPH, when viewed from outer space, the Earth and other planets are seen to “swim” or “float” in space. How did our Prophet know that all the celestial bodies SWIM along or FLOAT each in its ROUNDED course? And the sun and moon follow courses computed? Did he actually see millions of shooting stars like missiles in space, during his ascension journey? Read the following:
(a)”It is He who created the night and the day, the sun and the moon, all(the celestial bodies) swim along, each in its ROUNDED course” (Qur’an 21:33).
(b) “The sun and the moon follow courses (exactly) computed” (Q.55: 5)
B. When viewed from outer space, the clouds seem to move together with the Earth. Did Prophet actually see it? Read:
“You see the mountains and think them fixed, but they pass by as the clouds pass by” Q 27:88.
C. Did Prophet actually see millions of shooting stars like missiles in space, during his ascension journey? Read:
(a)“And We have, (from of old) adorned the lowest heaven with lamps, and We have such (lamps as) missiles to drive away the Evil ones, and have prepared for them the penalty of the Blazing Fire” (Q.67:5).
(b)“And we pried into the secrets of the universe, but we found it filled with stern guards and flaming fires”(Q.72:8).
(11) Was there a demonstration for the Prophet, PBUH, as to how Earth and other stars were gases once, and after consolidation, each separated by itself?
(a)“Heaven and Earth were smoke once” (Qur’an 41:11).
(b) “…Heaven and Earth were one piece before we parted them. We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?”(Q.21: 30).
(12) While in the Buraq, was the Prophet, PBUH, shown soil erosion by the oceans?
“See they not that We gradually reduce the land from its outlying borders?”(Qur’an 13:41; 21:44).
(13) Did Prophet, PBUH, see any people eating the stalk of the cactus plant (zaqqum) missed with boiling water? (Pleases note that mescal contains mescaline, a powerful hallucinogenic drug like LSD. It is extracted from the cactus plant by the North America Indians).
“Is that the biter entertainment or the tree of zaqqum? For we have truly made it (as) a trail for the wrongdoers. For it is a tree that springs out of the bottom of hell fire. The shoots of its fruit-stalk are like the heads of devils. Truly, they will eat thereof and fill their bellies therewith. Then on top of that they will be given a mixture of boiling water. Then shall their return be in the (blazing) fire” (Qur’an 37:62-68; 56:52-54; 44:43-45).
(14)How Prophet, PBUH, knew that deep down in the ocean it is so dark that you stretch out your hand, it cannot be seen?
“… Depths of darkmness in the oceans. If a man stretches out his hand, he can hardly see it”(Qur’an 24:40)
(15) How did he know that food digested and absorbed from the intestines goes through the blood to be secreted as milk? Read Q. 16:66.
(16) Was Prophet shown how man can create, direct and tame hurricanes? Read (Q21:81).
“It is Our power that made the violent (unruly) wind flow (tamely) for Solomon to his order, to the land which We ad blessed…”
(17) Did the Prophet, PBUH, know about the dextro and the laevo forms of chemical substances and that electrons and protons revolve in opposite directions?
“Do they not look at Alllah’s creation, (even) among (inanimate) things, how their very shadows turn round them from right AND left, prostrating to Allah, and that in the humblest manner?”(Q .16:48).
(18) Was Prophet shown nuclear physics? Read Q.77:8.
“And when the stars become dim”
Light is still traveling from the stars that must have died millions of years ago. We see the light in our skies, which emanated from the stars but not the stars themselves that vanished long ago and have become extinguished. It is known in modern theories of cosmology that stars would continue to radiate energy until they consume all their resources, when all the hydrogen which constitutes the vast majority of the mass of stars, has been converted into helium and other heavier elements in a process of continuous nuclear reaction. After that stage, the stars start to collapse and end up as cold dead bodies. We would not be able to see the stars but we still could see the light that is still traveling.
(19) If angels and the soul were to travel at the speed of light to a chosen place of Allah 50,000 light years away, there must be an important planet nearly 293,730 trillion miles away from our planet Earth.
“ From Allah, Lord of the Ways of Ascent: the Angels and Ruh (soul) ascend unto Him in Day, the measure whereof is (as) fifty thousand years” (Qur’an 70:3-4).
(20) Out of the billions of galaxies, could there be a planet where all our affairs go to, for permanent recording and storage (like a data centre)? If this is a thousand years of our reckoning, and assuming that our affairs are transported at a speed of light, then this planet with the data centre of all recordings on planet earth must be nearly 5,874 trillion miles away from us.
“ He rules (all) affairs from the Heaven to the Earth; in the end will (all affairs) go up to Him in a day, the space whereof will be (as) a thousand years of your reckoning.” (Q.32:5). The names of thousand years with distance in light years from Earth are as follows: (a) “Mebsuta”:940; (b) “Mirfac”, 1,110;(c) “Rigel”: 1,400; (d) “Bellatrix”: 1,400; (e) “Mintaka”: 1,400; (f) “Alnilam”: 1,400; (g) “ Alnitak”: 1,400; (h) “Saiph”: 1,400” (i) “Betelguese”: 1,400; (j) “Nair”: 1,400; (k) “Suhail al Muhlif: 1,500; (l) “Nace”: 2,000; (m) “Meissa”: 2,200; (n) “Wezen”: 2,600; (o) “al Anz”: 2,800; (p) “Shaula”: 3,500. (Majority of the names of the stars is Arabic!).
(21) COSMIC STRINGS: Have we ever wondered why stars and galaxies are clumped together rather than spread out evenly in space? Research has indicated that only a second after the “BIG BANG”, (some 15 billion years ago when the universe began as a hot, dense fireball of electrons, protons, photons and others), the phenomena known as “Cosmic Strings” came into existence.
These strings are described as energy threads created by the newborn universe. They are incredibly dense, (one inch of string would weigh10 million billion tons); they travel at the speed of light, (5 trillion miles in year) and are capable of bending space and light around them. They possess tremendous electro-magnetic qualities, are super-conductors and oscillate continuously. The repeated oscillations of these generate fantastic gravitational energy; and this may account for the galaxies to be grouped together in cluster. With the technological advances in astronomical instrumentation, astronomers and scientist may still be able to confirm their existence.
Confirmation of their existence would shed more light on the elementary nature of matter as well as on the birth process of the universe. Were the cosmic strings shown to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) during his Me’raj? Allah says: “By the universe (cosmos) with its many strings” (Q.51: 7)
(22) Was Prophet trained in anatomy and physiology? “Has there not been over a human being a long period of time when he was nothing, not even mentioned”? (Q.76: 1).
“Indeed, We have created a human being from a drop of sperm containing mixtures in order to try him, so we gave him (the gifts) of hearing and sight” (Q.76: 2).
“Now, let a human being but think from what he/she is created! He/she is created from a drop emitted, proceeding between the backbone (sulb) and the rib cage (Tara-ib)” (Q.86: 5,6,7).
These few words “bynas sulbi wat tara –ib” (Q.86: 6,7), explain the location of the nerve supply in the lumbar and sacral segments of the spinal cord (L4, L5, sacral parasympathetic fibers 2,3,4) responsible for the successful outcome of copulation between man and woman. Fertilization is the process of union of a male gamete (spermatozoon containing 23 chromosomes) with the female gamete (ovum also containing 23 chromosomes) to form a new cell and a new life, the zygote with 46 chromosomes (fused sperm and ovum) (Q.76: 2), with characteristic of both parents in about 80 to 100 thousand genes altogether, responsible for all the hereditary characteristics presents in this zygote, the future human being.
When the sperm penetrates the ovum, they pool their decide a man’s fate on 46 strings, like a puppet, in the nucleic acid chain which determines his heredity. The molecules of DNA in chromosomes of the fertilizes egg represent the blue print of the future organism in coded compressed language, A DNA molecule has the shape of a ladder twisted into a double helix.
After fertilization, the zygote divided repeatedly to form a solid mass of cell called morula (morus=mulberry). The human embryo increases in size over 3 million times from the size of a fertilized ovum (size of a needle point) to a newborn baby, some 20 inches long.
From the third to the eight-week is the period of organogenesis and the embryo begins to develop particular features. Between the fifth to the eight-week is the period of embryo completion. After the second month, the embryo is called a fetus. Soon after, although small, two to three cm. in length, it resembles a human being.
Man and woman who were made originally from clay, now possess sperms and ova which when fertilized, become zygotes, embryonic umps and fetuses in the womb of mother before they emerge as human begins. Students of biology and embryology should study Q.22: 5; Q.40: 67; Q.23: 12-14.
“Verily, we created man from clay. Then we placed him as drop (of sperm) in safe custody (womb). Then we made the sperm into something which cling; then of that clinging material we made a lump (an embryo); then we made of that lump bones and clothe the bones with flesh (fetus); then we developed out of it another creature (human being). So blessed be Allah, the Best to create” (Q.23: 12-14).
Also of particular significance are certain associated events recorded by Al-Bukhari and Muslim ona report from Abdullah ibn Mas’ud which stated that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said:
“The creation of each one of you is brought in the womb of his mother for forty days as a germ cell, then for a similar period he is an embryonic lump (hanging like a leech), then for another forty days he is a morsel of flesh; then Allah sends an angel who is ordered to write down four word. He is told to write down his career, his livelihood, his life duration and whether he is to be miserable or happy, and the angel breathe the Ruh (soul) into him”
(23) Not having studied entomology, how did Prophet know that it is the female bee (and not the male) that gathers the nectar? Read Q.16: 68-69.
(24) Was it predicated in the Quran 15 centuries ago that man would land on the moon?
“And He has made the sun and the moon, both diligently pursuing their courses, subservient to YOU” (Q.14: 33).
(25) LAWHAM MAHFOOZ: Did Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), have access to, Lawham Mahfooz the Guarded Divine Computer, in which everything from the beginning to the end of time is recorded? How did he know the different ways in which this world and the universe will end? For this, please see a separate article in this paper on how life, earth and the universe may end in future.
The above data I have provided to support the actuality of the physical ascension of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), is not beyond the acceptance of anyone who is in touch with recent scientific developments in space travel. Moreover, Allah Himself says in Q.38: 88 that the truth of all that is in the Quran will manifest itself after a while.