Moses and the Pharaoh versus Muslims and George Bush

If you ever visit Egypt you will be amazed by how civilized the ancient Egyptians were. Egyptian monuments are still there. Statues and temples built thousands of years ago did not perish up to date. You will see the huge pyramids which are among the largest man-made buildings up till now. The height of the great pyramid is 146.59 meters and its area covers 13.6 acres with each side greater than 5 acres in area. The exact number of stones was originally estimated at 2,300,000 stone blocks weighing from 2-30 tons each with some weighing as much as 70 tons. Computer calculations indicate 590,712 stone blocks were used in its construction.

The ancient Egyptians were civilized enough to build such a huge building. They were able to move these heavy stones from various places to the location where the pyramids were built. They were able somehow to raise these stones to make the pyramid as tall as it is. All this happened in the early time of the ancient Egyptian era. The archaeologists believe the great pyramid of Khufu was built starting the year 2600 BC. The lifespan of the ancient Egyptian era spreads over almost 2800 years from 3100 BC to 332 BC. This shows that the pyramids were built in the early time of the ancient Egyptian era.

Despite being civilized, the Egyptians in many periods along their ancient history believed in polytheism or multiple Gods and in other periods, they worshipped their pharaoh. However, Allah (God) the creator of the heavens and the earth did not leave them to go astray and sent them messengers to show them the straight path of worshipping one God: Allah. Amongst the messengers sent to the Egyptians are prophet Joseph and prophet Moses.

Prophet Moses was sent at a time, the Ancient Egyptians were very civilized in terms of the material aspects. He was sent to one of the pharaohs who believed himself to be a God. This pharaoh made the Egyptians worship him. He dreamt a dream that was explained to him. The dream implied that his kingdom will be destroyed by one of the male children of Israel. This pharaoh, who is believed to be Ramesses II, started killing the male babies from amongst the children of Israel. He used to use the children of Israel as slaves in Egypt.

Moses was born and his mother feared that the pharaoh would kill him. Allah inspired to her to put him in a cradle and to throw him in the Nile. The family of the pharaoh then found him and raised him till he became a young man. Later on, a fight happened between one of the children of Israel and one of the Egyptians and the Israeli asked Moses to help him against his enemy. Moses pushed the Egyptian and he died. This incident was then known in the city and Moses escaped from Egypt not to be killed.
Years later Allah sent Moses with a message to the pharaoh. Moses peace be upon him went to the pharaoh and asked him to send the children of Israel with him and not to torture them. The pharaoh asked Moses about his God and Moses replied and told him about the creator of the heavens and the earth. A long debate happened between Moses and the pharaoh and the pharaoh reminded him of raising him till he became a man and he reminded him of what he did when he killed the Egyptian man. Moses replied back that despite killing the man mistakenly, he escaped from Egypt because he feared to be treated unjustly.

The next big event then was organized by the pharaoh. In a day which the Egyptians used to celebrate, a big crowd of Egyptians were gathered and a magic match was done between Moses and the most clever magicians in the country. The magicians threw their ropes and sticks and using magic were able to show people that these sticks and ropes are moving as if they were snakes. Moses then threw his stick and it actually turned into a real snake. This snake ate what the magicians did. The magicians then prostrated and believed in the God of Moses. They knew that what they saw was not magic. It is a true miracle from Allah. However, the stubborn pharaoh did not believe and instead threatened the magicians to torture them. This did not shake the magicians or turn them back from the true belief.

Allah sent several disasters to Egypt, so that may be the Egyptians and the pharaoh would contemplate and return back from their deviation. Amongst the disasters were the decrease of the level of water in the Nile river, harmful insects which ate the crops and caused starvation and many other disasters. However, the pharaoh insisted on his mischief. He did not want to believe in the one God and he did not want to send the children of Israel with Moses.

Allah commanded Moses to take the children of Israel and travel with them east towards the red sea. The pharaoh took his soldiers and chased Moses and the children of Israel. When Moses reached the sea Allah commanded him to hit the sea with his stick. A miracle happened and the sea was divided into two parts, each part is as big as a mountain. Moses and the children of Israel crossed the sea on their feet. Yet the pharaoh and his soldiers did not ponder upon the miracle. They just tried to cross the sea after Moses and his followers. The sea returned back to its nature and the pharaoh and his soldiers drowned in the sea.

This story is a well known story to the followers of Islam, Christianity and Judaism with slight variations. However, the core of the story is the same. And therefore, the morals of the story are the same.

There are many lessons to be taken from this story. The first and most clear lesson is that being a civilized nation does not mean that all the decisions taken by this nation are right. Look at the civilized Egyptians. Despite being civilized, the whole nation except few of them took the decision to worship their pharaoh. This proved later to be the wrong decision. This decision can be compared in many aspects to the decision took by the Bush administration in the United States to go in a war against terror. This decision was backed by many Americans and this is proven by the renewal for the Bush administration in the presidential elections. Although the Bush administration did not define what they mean by terror, yet, they got the support from many Americans to these hollow words. They instead of fighting the so called "terror" attacked other countries and took the freedom away from the people of these countries.

Another lesson that can be taken from this story is that people of a nation believe in what their leaders tell them even if they are telling pure lies. The pharaoh kept telling the Egyptians that what Moses came with is a false message to take you out of your homeland. In a very similar manner the Bush administration is telling its people that the "Muslim terrorists" are imposing danger on the American nation. This statement puts a black cover over the eyes of most Americans from understanding what Islam is truly about. It is clearly relating Islam to terrorism. Although what the people in power are saying might be pure lies, yet the nation believe them. This lesson as shown is very applicable to our time.

A final and very important lesson is the message that Moses came with. He was asking people to worship one God with no partners or associates. The people who obeyed Moses and followed his message was saved and the ones who disobeyed him and went astray were tortured in this life and will be tortured in the hereafter as well. Allah says in the Quran:

"The brunt of the Penalty encompassed on all sides the People of the Pharaoh. In front of the Fire will they be brought, morning and evening: and (the Sentence will be) on the Day that Judgment will be established: "Cast ye the People of the Pharaoh into the severest Penalty!" Behold, they will dispute with each other in the Fire! The weak ones (who followed) will say to those who had been arrogant, "We but followed you: can ye then take (on yourselves) from us some share of the Fire?" Those who had been arrogant will say: "We are all in this (Fire)! Truly, Allah has judged between (His) Servants!" Those in the Fire will say to the Keepers of Hell: "Pray to your Lord to lighten us the Penalty for a Day (at least)!" They will say: "Did there not come to you your Messengers with Clear Signs?" They will say: "Yes." They will reply, "Then pray (as ye like)! But the Prayer of those without Faith is nothing but (futile wandering) in (mazes of) error!" We will, without doubt, help Our Messengers and those who believe, (both) in this world's life and on the Day when the Witnesses will stand forth, The Day when no profit will it be to wrong-doers to present their excuses, but they will (only) have the Curse and the Home of Misery." Quran: chapter 40-verses 45-52

Thoughts about A Fact that We should Never Forget: Death [1]

People might argue and disagree about many things in life based on their different backgrounds, perceptions and understandings. However, there is one fact in life that no two persons in this world can ever disagree about. This fact is DEATH.

Every human being, no matter how long he/she lives, will die one day. No one can deny this fact. It is something that we see every day. You do not need to do much effort to prove it. Just visit the nearest cemetery and you can see people dying every day. Death might come at any moment. Old people die and young people die. Sick people die and healthy people die. Being young and healthy does not mean that you are so far from death. It still can happen.

Being aware of this fact should not be a cause of sadness. It rather should be a motivation for us to think deeply and honestly about the purpose of our lives. Is there any purpose for our lives? Are we just living to satisfy our desires? What will happen after death? Will we just vanish? Is there really a day that every human being will be held accountable for what he/she did? Does heaven and hell exist? Can you prove it? These are some questions that might arise in your mind when you think about the fact of death. Some people just turn their backs to these questions and try to get themselves busy with their lives. However, every day passes they get closer from their destiny and their lives will get to an end one day. Therefore, it is of great importance to reach an answer for these question before a time comes that we may regret when regret is of no help any more.

Using our minds only to reach answers for the questions mentioned above is impossible. You might guess an answer but you can never be sure about it. Once a person dies, he can not communicate to us what he saw, is seeing, experienced and is experiencing any more.

Fortunately, we do not have to answer these questions by ourselves. All what we need is to realize that we have a creator. A God that created us and created everything in this world. Every thing around us is a clear evidence for the existence of this God. Just think about the things that have direct effect on you: the sun, the moon, your human body, etc... After deep thinking, you will realize that all these things won't function properly unless there is a God that created them and made them look and function the way they do.

This God did not leave the humanity, His creation, to go astray without any guidance. This God did not leave us to guess the answers for the questions about our purpose in life and about our destiney. He rather sent us messengers from amongst us, human beings like us, to teach us our purpose in life. Amongst those messengers are Moses, Jesus and Mohammad peace and blessings be upon them. Mohammad peace and blessings be upon him came with a book from God as did Moses and Jesus. This book is Quran, in which answers for all the above questions can be found easily.

God tells us about our purpose in life in Quran:
"I have only created Jinns and men (human beings), that they may serve Me." chapter 52-verse 56
In other verses God (Allah in Arabic) tells us about the destination of those who follow their evil desires and exceed their bounds and the destination of those who restrain themselves from exceeding the bounds:
"Then for him who transgressed all bounds, (in disbelief, oppression and evil deeds of disobedience to Allah). And preferred the life of this world (by following his evil desires and lusts), Verily, his abode will be Hell-fire; But as for him who feared standing before his Lord, and restrained himself from impure evil desires and lusts. Verily, Paradise will be his abode." chapter 79-verses 37-41

But how to serve God? In what way? Also what are the bounds? What are the evil desires? How to know evil from good? All these questions are answered in detail in Quran. However, not to make this article too lengthy, I will leave exploring the answers to the reader.

[1] These thoughts are inspired by Harun Yahya's documentary "Never Forget":
http://www.harunyahya.net/V2/Lang/en/Pg/WorkDetail/Number/1919

Thoughts about Allah's Artistry in Color [1]:
2- Perceiving colors is a miracle

It really is!! To be accurate perceiving colors includes a number of miracles. Just think about how many elements in the nature and in the human being itself are involved in perceiving colors.

The first element from the nature is the sun that sends its light to the earth. The sun is the main source of light in the earth. The mechanism by which light is initiated from the sun is a complicated one that involves many tiny steps. This mechanism is a miracle in itself. If the light is absent, then the colors are absent too. The second element from the nature are the molecules that constitute various objects surrounding us, including plants, mountains, animals, etc... The ability of these molecules to absorb all the different components of the light and reflect only one component which is the color we see is the second miracle in this series of miracles. Also, think about the existence of different types of molecules within the same object to show different colors. For example, look at the parrot. Look how many colors it has. Look at the harmony of colors. These multiple colors and the harmony between them are two other miracles.


Next, look at the organs in the human body that are involved in perceiving colors. First, the eye with all the fine details of transfering the outside images to signals that can be detected by the brain. Second, the nerves that transfer these signals to the brain. And, finally the brain itself which allows us to recognize the various colors clearly.

Finally, look at the harmony beween all these elements that results in transfering an accurate image to the human brain. Is it possible that all this happened randomly? If we saw footsteps of a camel in the desert we will know that a camel walked in this place. If we saw a garden having a number of fruitful trees surrounded by a fence, we know that it is owned by somebody. Aren't all the miracles involved in perceiving colors enough proof for the existence of an innnovative creator behind them? Do not they show how great this creator is? Do not they show how capable He is? This creator is the one and only creator of the heavens and the earth. He is Allah (Arabic for God).

[1] These thoughts are inspired by Harun Yahya's documentary "Allah's Artistry in Color": http://www.harunyahya.net/V2/Lang/en/Pg/WorkDetail/Number/1312

Thoughts about Allah's Artistry in Color [1]:
1- Colorful world makes you happier

It is really amazing this wonderful set of colors that we see around us every where. The movie grabs your attention to this big bounty that many people may not be aware of or may belittle in many cases. This bounty is colors.

Imagine if you were living in a black and white world or even worse imagine if you were living in a totally dark world, how would you feel? Well, if you never saw the colors before, you will just get used to your world. But if you have seen the colorful world and you compare it to the dark or black and white world, for sure you will be feeling miserable.

The first thing that came to my mind when I first saw this movie was this idea: colorful world makes human beings happier. Colors have a strong effect on our feelings. As the number of colors increases and the colors are in harmony, you will be feeling happier to see them. I do not know the scientific explanation of this. I just know that I feel it myself.

Colors are around us every where in the creation of God: plants, flowers, stars, fishes, birds, butterflies, mountains, every thing. The harmony in these colors in the creation and the effect of colors on our feelings is a clear proof of the existense of God. This harmony and these effects can not be just coincidence. They are clearly rules that the human beings and every single creature are bound to. These rules were set by God (Allah in arabic).

[1] These thoughts are inspired by Harun Yahya's documentary "Allah's Artistry in Color":
http://www.harunyahya.net/V2/Lang/en/Pg/WorkDetail/Number/1312