Issue 19 (July - September 1997)

The modern age in which we live, despite its many beauties and its promises to mankind, has been an age of suffering and despair for the oppressed peoples of the world. Those peoples, who did not have enough intellectual, cultural, economic and psychological preparation to cope with that age, have…

Nuclear transfer is used in mammals as both a tool for embryonic studies and as a method for the multiplication of ‘elite’ embryos. It involves transferring the complete genetic material (the DNA contained in a nucleus) from one cell into an unfertilized egg whose own nucleus has been removed. PPL…

It is said that on the door to Aristotle’s dwelling was written: ‘One who does not know mathematics cannot enter.’ I do not know whether this means that those who did not know mathematics would not be able to understand Aristotle or if it was simply a way to urge people to study mathematics. We do…

It is a Divine rule that As you sow, so shall you reap. The effects of pollution are not always felt by those who create it, but instead are suffered by these downstream or, in the case of air pollution, downwind. As the atmosphere is constantly moving and no one can actually claim specific molecul…

What is death and what does the spirit do after death? Man has an inborn feeling for eternity. Confined within this transient, material world, he always yearns for eternity. Whoever listens to the voice of man’s inner nature will hear it pronouncing eternity over and over again. If a man were give…

Tears are poetry whose words are written in drops, expressing joy and grief, hope and despair. When consumed with pangs of separation, melting like candle, man breathes in tears and speaks in tears. A time comes when man rejoices child-like with tears of joy, as he sees dawn begin to break all…

Everything in nature is balanced and created according to laws, proportion, and measure. Nothing in the world is created in vain; rather, all things manifest God’s Will behind the veil of natural causes. If we look at nature around us, we will observe many magnificent creatures, but human beings ha…

One of the assertions of Darwinian theory of evolution is that there is a perfection or structural and functional development in the animal kingdom from invertebrates to vertebrates, from fish to mammals, from mice to monkeys. According to evolutionists, natural (inorganic) elements evolved into on…

A well-to-do merchant planned a long business trip to India. He was a good man and looked after all the people in his household both conscientiously and courteously. Therefore, before his departure, he assembled all his servants and asked them, one by one, what they would like him to bring for them…

His full name was Abu Mahfuz Ma’ruf b. Firuz al-Karkhi. According to the Shi’i imam ‘Ali b. Musa al-Reza, Ma’ruf al-Karkhi was born to Christian parents but, from an early age, he rejected, even when beaten for it at school, the doctrine of the Trinity and declared his conviction that God is One. E…

Creatures come into existence easily and, although of various kinds and species, resemble one another in many ways. They are spread out on the earth with perfect order and display a perfect proportionateness and equipment. As this demonstrates on a broad scale the necessity of an All-Wise Maker’s e…

At a time when little was known about the anatomy of man, the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, declared: Every human being is created of 360 articulations. Therefore, whoever glorifies God, praises Him, declares His Unity, asks Him forgiveness, removes stones, bones or similar…