Thursday, September 9, 2010
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Nafl Salaahs:Solat-solat sunat..antaranya..
VERY Rewarding Nafl Salaahs we can Pray Everyday!
1.TAHIYATUL WUDHU (Nafl prayer after doing Wudu)
Abu Hurairah Radiyallahu 'anhu narrates that once Nabi Sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam asked Bilal (Radiyallahu 'anhu) at Fajr Salat:
O Bilal!
Tell me that deed of yours
which is most hopeful (for reward)
after embracing Islam,
for I heard your footsteps in front of me in Paradise
(in my dream).
Bilal (Radiyallahu 'anhu) replied:
I have not done anything extroadinary except that
whenever I perform Wudu during the day or night,
I Salat (Tahiyatul-Wudu) after that,
as much as was written or granted for me.(Bukhari)
Abu Huraira Radhiallahu ‘anhu narrated that Allah’s Messenger Shalallahu ‘alaihi wa Salam said to Bilal Radhiallahu ‘anhu “Tell me about the most hopeful act (i.e one which you deem the most rewarding with Allah) you have done since your acceptance of Islam because I heard the sound of the steps of your shoes in front of me in paradise.” Bilal said : “I do not consider any act more hopeful than that whenever I make ablution (wudoo) at any time of night or day, I offer salah (prayer) for as long as was destined for me to offer.” Narrated by Al-bukhari and Muslim.
After completion of the wudhu of two Rakaats is full of blessings (sawaab). It is related in the Hadith that performance of the two Rakaats of Tahiyatul wudhu Namaaz makes paradise obligatory (wajib) for the performer (ref:Muslim Sharif) There are also many other benefits.
It should not be performed during the Improper (makruh) times. (When the sun rises, when it is at Zenith and when it sets.)
2. Prayer of Ishraq (Sunrise prayer)
The beloved Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) has said: Those who perform the Fajr prayer in congregation (Jamaa’at), read the Zikr (remembrance of Allah) till the sun has completely arisen (length of a spear from the horizon, after 20 minutes of sunrise) and read 2 Raka-at Nafil prayer, will have the benedictions (sawaab) equal to those of Haj-Umrah. It is recommended to read the Surah Fateha and Ayyat-uk-Kursi till Khaalidoon, in the first Raka-at, and in the second Raka-at to read, after Surah Fateha, Aamanar Rasul till the end of Suratul Baqarah. In the case that this verse cannot be read from memory, one can recite any other verse and then ask Duas. Woman should read all prayers of Farz and Nafil at home and will derive the same benefits (sawaab) that accrue from prayer performed at the Mosque (Tirmizi Shareef).
The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) is reported to have said that Whoever, after finishing Fajr salat, kept sitting at the place of prayer, and prayed the Ishraq salat before getting up from there, provided he did not engage in any worldly act or conversation during that time, and instead, remained in Allah's Zikr (remembrance), then all his sins are forgiven, even if they are as much as the foarn of the ocean. [Abu Da'ud] The scholars have written that during this time, the person should take care to sit facing the Qiblah. Sheikh Shahabuddin Soharwardi (R.A.) used to say that the action whose reward is obtained right away in this world, is that a person, after Fajr salat, facing Qiblah, does Zikr of Allah until Ishraq. After a few days the person will gain inner spiritual light (Nuraniyat).
Rasulullah is reported to have said that Allah Ta'ala says, 'O son of Aadam, perform 4 Rakaats of Salat (Ishraaq) in the early part of the day. I shall help you in accomplishing all your responsibilities during the rest of the day.' (Mishkaat pg.116)
In another narration of Tirmidhi, Rasulullah is reported to have said, 'He who performs Fajr Salat with Jamaat and remains seated in the same place while engaging in Dhikr until after sunrise and thereafter performs 2 Rakaats Nafil Salat, (Ishraaq), he will obtain the Thawaab of one Hajj and one Umrah.' (Tirmidhi).
From the above Ahaadith, we learn that the number of Rakaats to be performed are 2 or 4 Rakaats, and the Mustahabb method of performing it is to remain seated in your place of Salat after Fajr and engage in Dhikr, etc. until sunrise. Then, approximately, 10-15 minutes after sunrise perform 2-4 Rakaats. 'If a person gets occupied in some worldly activity after the Fajr Salat, and after sunrise he offers Ishraaq Salat, this will also be permissible although the reward will be less.' (Bahishti Zewar part2 pg.30)
3. Dhuhaa Salaat (Breakfast prayer)
When the sun has risen high and there is heat in its rays, the performance of 2,4, 6,8 or 12 rakaats is called Namaaz-e-Chaast. This is full of countless rewards.
The Traditions says that the performance of 2 rakaats wipes away all ones sins. There are 360 joints in our body and to pay Sadakah for each is Wajib (obligatory) The 2 rakaaats is enough to pay all the Sadakah. Performance of 4 rakaats places the performer's name among the Abids and is the Sunnat of Saliheen and promise the performer protection until the evening. The performer of 6 rakaats is relieved of his day's worries. Performance of 8 rakaats places his name among the Parhezgaars and the performer of 12 rakaats ensures a Golden Mansion or castle for himself in Paradise. (Ref : Tirmizi, Ibne Majah, Ahmad and Abu Yala)
The Mustahabb (preferred) time of performing Salat al-Dhuhaa is after 1/4 of the day has passed. This is deduced from a Hadith of Muslim. (Halabi; Sharah Kabeer pg.390). From many Ahaadith, we understand that Salat al-Dhuhaa should be performed after the sun has risen quiet high. Because the Fuqahaa and Muhadditheen are of the opinion that the commencement of the time of Salat al-Dhuhaa is the same as that of Ishraaq (i.e. immediately after sunrise), the Ulama have stated that 'if due to lack of time, one performs the Salat of Ishraaq and Dhuhaa together at one time, that too will be correct.' (Our Namaas pg.44)
Rasulullah is reported to have said, 'Whoever offers 2 Rakaats of Salat al-Dhuhaa, all his sins will be forgiven even though they are as much as the foam of the sea.' (Ibid)
It is reported that Sayyidna Aaisha (Radhiallaahu Anha) used to perform 8 Rakaats of Salat al-Dhuhaa. She said that even if her parents arose from the grave, she would not leave Salat al-Dhuhaa to go and meet them. (Ibid).
'Salat al-Dhuhaa consists of 2 - 12 Rakaats and it is preferable to perform 8 Rakaats.' (Raddul Mukhtaar vol.1 pg.505)
The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) is reported to have said that Whoever prayed twelve rakaats at the time of Chasht, then Allah will, as reward, prepare a palace of gold for him in Paradise. [Mishkat, Tirmizi, Ibn Majah]
4. Virtues of the Four Rak'aah Sunnah of Zuhr
The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) is reported to have said that Whoever performs the four rakaats before and after the Zuhr salat with constancy, Allah Ta'ala makes the fire of Hell haram (forbidden) for him. [Mishkat, p. 104; Tirmizi, Abu Da'ud, Nisai, Ibn Majah]
The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) is reported to have said that after the worshipper prays the four rakaats of Zuhr salat, the doors of heaven are opened, i.e. the salat becomes accepted by Allah, and the cause of its acceptance comes down on the worshipper as rays of mercy. [Mishkat, p. 104]
5. Virtues of the 4 Rak'aah Sunnah of Asr
Messenger (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) said: "May Allaah have Mercy on the one who offers four (rak'ahs) before 'Asr prayer." (Abu Dawud)
6.Prayer of Tahajjud (Night prayer)
Our Master, the beloved Prophet Muhammad (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) has said: In Paradise there is a castle reserved for those who read Tahajjud and the Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) further adds, those who pray at night will enter paradise without having to account for their acts in this life.
The Nafils of Tahajjud are read after the Esha prayer, but it is important to sleep before performing Tahajjud. The prayer consists of a minimum of 2 Raka-ats, and a maximum of 8 or 12 Raka-ats (to be read according ones capacity).
After Esha prayers sleep for some time, then wake up any time during the night before the rise of morning for Tahajjud prayers. With the performance of 2 Rakats you have duly achieved your Tahajjud. However, the performance of 8 Rakats in Sunnat, and complying with the practice of the Holy Saints of Islam and performing 12 Rakats is commendable.
It is recommended that you recite in your prayers as much of the Sacred Quran as you know. If you happen to know by heart the whole of the Sacred Quran you may, in at least 3 nights or most 4 nights of Tahajjud effectuate the complete reading of the Sacred Quran.
Otherwise, you may recite 3 Surah Ikhlas (Qul Hu Allahu Ahad) after your "Alhamdu..." in every Rakat and you will thus derive full benefits of the full recital of the Sacred Quran in every Rakat.
During the month of Ramadan one should awake a little earlier for Sehri and make time to pray Tahajjud Salaah for the reward is magnified so much more in Ramadan and duas are even more readily accepted than at any other time of the year.
The dua's at the time of Tahajjud are very readily accepted by Almighty Allah and one should repent and ask of Allah and try to cry in their dua's at this time, if one cannot cry due to the hardness of ones heart due to sin then at least one should make the face as if one is crying. Just as a mother tends to her baby quickly and promptly when it cries the same way Allah attends to his servant quicker when they are crying
7.Virtues of walking to the Masjid
Abu Hurayra رضى الله تعالى عنه reported that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said,
"Anyone who purifies himself in his house and then goes to one of the houses of Allah to fulfil one of the obligations of Allah, one step removes an error and the other raises him a degree." [Muslim]
8. Virtues of Praying in the Masjid
The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) is reported to have said that The person who, from morning to evening, goes towards the Masjid to perform salat, every time he goes to the Masjid, Allah Ta'ala prepares the Paradise for his welcome. [Mishkat]
9. Tahiyyatul Masjid (Nafl prayer when entering Masjid)
Abu Qatada Radhiallahu ‘anhu narrated that the Prophet Shalallahu ‘alaihi wa Salam said : “If any one of you enters a mosque, he should pray two raka’ats before sitting.” Narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.
This is a 2 Rak'aah Nafl prayer which one should perform as one enters the Masjid. It is very rewarding.
10. Reward of Salaah multiplied 70 times or more by use of Miswaak
‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) has reported that,
“The prayer before which the Miswak is used is seventy times more excellent than that before which it is not used.”
Ibn Abbas, ‘Ali and Ata (may Allah be pleased with them all) state that,
“But it increases to 99 or 400 times.”
Reward for every action is based on sincerity, the more sincerity we are the the more reward we'll get! It may be that we could get 70, 99 or even 400 times or more rewards for every action depending on how sincere we are in doing the action. Subhanallah!
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO FORWARD,COPY AND PRINT THIS PAGE
http://www.islamicboard.com/worship-islam/134290405-very-rewarding-nafl-salaahs-we-can-pray-everyday.html
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone o_Ó
1.TAHIYATUL WUDHU (Nafl prayer after doing Wudu)
Abu Hurairah Radiyallahu 'anhu narrates that once Nabi Sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam asked Bilal (Radiyallahu 'anhu) at Fajr Salat:
O Bilal!
Tell me that deed of yours
which is most hopeful (for reward)
after embracing Islam,
for I heard your footsteps in front of me in Paradise
(in my dream).
Bilal (Radiyallahu 'anhu) replied:
I have not done anything extroadinary except that
whenever I perform Wudu during the day or night,
I Salat (Tahiyatul-Wudu) after that,
as much as was written or granted for me.(Bukhari)
Abu Huraira Radhiallahu ‘anhu narrated that Allah’s Messenger Shalallahu ‘alaihi wa Salam said to Bilal Radhiallahu ‘anhu “Tell me about the most hopeful act (i.e one which you deem the most rewarding with Allah) you have done since your acceptance of Islam because I heard the sound of the steps of your shoes in front of me in paradise.” Bilal said : “I do not consider any act more hopeful than that whenever I make ablution (wudoo) at any time of night or day, I offer salah (prayer) for as long as was destined for me to offer.” Narrated by Al-bukhari and Muslim.
After completion of the wudhu of two Rakaats is full of blessings (sawaab). It is related in the Hadith that performance of the two Rakaats of Tahiyatul wudhu Namaaz makes paradise obligatory (wajib) for the performer (ref:Muslim Sharif) There are also many other benefits.
It should not be performed during the Improper (makruh) times. (When the sun rises, when it is at Zenith and when it sets.)
2. Prayer of Ishraq (Sunrise prayer)
The beloved Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) has said: Those who perform the Fajr prayer in congregation (Jamaa’at), read the Zikr (remembrance of Allah) till the sun has completely arisen (length of a spear from the horizon, after 20 minutes of sunrise) and read 2 Raka-at Nafil prayer, will have the benedictions (sawaab) equal to those of Haj-Umrah. It is recommended to read the Surah Fateha and Ayyat-uk-Kursi till Khaalidoon, in the first Raka-at, and in the second Raka-at to read, after Surah Fateha, Aamanar Rasul till the end of Suratul Baqarah. In the case that this verse cannot be read from memory, one can recite any other verse and then ask Duas. Woman should read all prayers of Farz and Nafil at home and will derive the same benefits (sawaab) that accrue from prayer performed at the Mosque (Tirmizi Shareef).
The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) is reported to have said that Whoever, after finishing Fajr salat, kept sitting at the place of prayer, and prayed the Ishraq salat before getting up from there, provided he did not engage in any worldly act or conversation during that time, and instead, remained in Allah's Zikr (remembrance), then all his sins are forgiven, even if they are as much as the foarn of the ocean. [Abu Da'ud] The scholars have written that during this time, the person should take care to sit facing the Qiblah. Sheikh Shahabuddin Soharwardi (R.A.) used to say that the action whose reward is obtained right away in this world, is that a person, after Fajr salat, facing Qiblah, does Zikr of Allah until Ishraq. After a few days the person will gain inner spiritual light (Nuraniyat).
Rasulullah is reported to have said that Allah Ta'ala says, 'O son of Aadam, perform 4 Rakaats of Salat (Ishraaq) in the early part of the day. I shall help you in accomplishing all your responsibilities during the rest of the day.' (Mishkaat pg.116)
In another narration of Tirmidhi, Rasulullah is reported to have said, 'He who performs Fajr Salat with Jamaat and remains seated in the same place while engaging in Dhikr until after sunrise and thereafter performs 2 Rakaats Nafil Salat, (Ishraaq), he will obtain the Thawaab of one Hajj and one Umrah.' (Tirmidhi).
From the above Ahaadith, we learn that the number of Rakaats to be performed are 2 or 4 Rakaats, and the Mustahabb method of performing it is to remain seated in your place of Salat after Fajr and engage in Dhikr, etc. until sunrise. Then, approximately, 10-15 minutes after sunrise perform 2-4 Rakaats. 'If a person gets occupied in some worldly activity after the Fajr Salat, and after sunrise he offers Ishraaq Salat, this will also be permissible although the reward will be less.' (Bahishti Zewar part2 pg.30)
3. Dhuhaa Salaat (Breakfast prayer)
When the sun has risen high and there is heat in its rays, the performance of 2,4, 6,8 or 12 rakaats is called Namaaz-e-Chaast. This is full of countless rewards.
The Traditions says that the performance of 2 rakaats wipes away all ones sins. There are 360 joints in our body and to pay Sadakah for each is Wajib (obligatory) The 2 rakaaats is enough to pay all the Sadakah. Performance of 4 rakaats places the performer's name among the Abids and is the Sunnat of Saliheen and promise the performer protection until the evening. The performer of 6 rakaats is relieved of his day's worries. Performance of 8 rakaats places his name among the Parhezgaars and the performer of 12 rakaats ensures a Golden Mansion or castle for himself in Paradise. (Ref : Tirmizi, Ibne Majah, Ahmad and Abu Yala)
The Mustahabb (preferred) time of performing Salat al-Dhuhaa is after 1/4 of the day has passed. This is deduced from a Hadith of Muslim. (Halabi; Sharah Kabeer pg.390). From many Ahaadith, we understand that Salat al-Dhuhaa should be performed after the sun has risen quiet high. Because the Fuqahaa and Muhadditheen are of the opinion that the commencement of the time of Salat al-Dhuhaa is the same as that of Ishraaq (i.e. immediately after sunrise), the Ulama have stated that 'if due to lack of time, one performs the Salat of Ishraaq and Dhuhaa together at one time, that too will be correct.' (Our Namaas pg.44)
Rasulullah is reported to have said, 'Whoever offers 2 Rakaats of Salat al-Dhuhaa, all his sins will be forgiven even though they are as much as the foam of the sea.' (Ibid)
It is reported that Sayyidna Aaisha (Radhiallaahu Anha) used to perform 8 Rakaats of Salat al-Dhuhaa. She said that even if her parents arose from the grave, she would not leave Salat al-Dhuhaa to go and meet them. (Ibid).
'Salat al-Dhuhaa consists of 2 - 12 Rakaats and it is preferable to perform 8 Rakaats.' (Raddul Mukhtaar vol.1 pg.505)
The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) is reported to have said that Whoever prayed twelve rakaats at the time of Chasht, then Allah will, as reward, prepare a palace of gold for him in Paradise. [Mishkat, Tirmizi, Ibn Majah]
4. Virtues of the Four Rak'aah Sunnah of Zuhr
The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) is reported to have said that Whoever performs the four rakaats before and after the Zuhr salat with constancy, Allah Ta'ala makes the fire of Hell haram (forbidden) for him. [Mishkat, p. 104; Tirmizi, Abu Da'ud, Nisai, Ibn Majah]
The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) is reported to have said that after the worshipper prays the four rakaats of Zuhr salat, the doors of heaven are opened, i.e. the salat becomes accepted by Allah, and the cause of its acceptance comes down on the worshipper as rays of mercy. [Mishkat, p. 104]
5. Virtues of the 4 Rak'aah Sunnah of Asr
Messenger (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) said: "May Allaah have Mercy on the one who offers four (rak'ahs) before 'Asr prayer." (Abu Dawud)
6.Prayer of Tahajjud (Night prayer)
Our Master, the beloved Prophet Muhammad (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) has said: In Paradise there is a castle reserved for those who read Tahajjud and the Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) further adds, those who pray at night will enter paradise without having to account for their acts in this life.
The Nafils of Tahajjud are read after the Esha prayer, but it is important to sleep before performing Tahajjud. The prayer consists of a minimum of 2 Raka-ats, and a maximum of 8 or 12 Raka-ats (to be read according ones capacity).
After Esha prayers sleep for some time, then wake up any time during the night before the rise of morning for Tahajjud prayers. With the performance of 2 Rakats you have duly achieved your Tahajjud. However, the performance of 8 Rakats in Sunnat, and complying with the practice of the Holy Saints of Islam and performing 12 Rakats is commendable.
It is recommended that you recite in your prayers as much of the Sacred Quran as you know. If you happen to know by heart the whole of the Sacred Quran you may, in at least 3 nights or most 4 nights of Tahajjud effectuate the complete reading of the Sacred Quran.
Otherwise, you may recite 3 Surah Ikhlas (Qul Hu Allahu Ahad) after your "Alhamdu..." in every Rakat and you will thus derive full benefits of the full recital of the Sacred Quran in every Rakat.
During the month of Ramadan one should awake a little earlier for Sehri and make time to pray Tahajjud Salaah for the reward is magnified so much more in Ramadan and duas are even more readily accepted than at any other time of the year.
The dua's at the time of Tahajjud are very readily accepted by Almighty Allah and one should repent and ask of Allah and try to cry in their dua's at this time, if one cannot cry due to the hardness of ones heart due to sin then at least one should make the face as if one is crying. Just as a mother tends to her baby quickly and promptly when it cries the same way Allah attends to his servant quicker when they are crying
7.Virtues of walking to the Masjid
Abu Hurayra رضى الله تعالى عنه reported that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said,
"Anyone who purifies himself in his house and then goes to one of the houses of Allah to fulfil one of the obligations of Allah, one step removes an error and the other raises him a degree." [Muslim]
8. Virtues of Praying in the Masjid
The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) is reported to have said that The person who, from morning to evening, goes towards the Masjid to perform salat, every time he goes to the Masjid, Allah Ta'ala prepares the Paradise for his welcome. [Mishkat]
9. Tahiyyatul Masjid (Nafl prayer when entering Masjid)
Abu Qatada Radhiallahu ‘anhu narrated that the Prophet Shalallahu ‘alaihi wa Salam said : “If any one of you enters a mosque, he should pray two raka’ats before sitting.” Narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.
This is a 2 Rak'aah Nafl prayer which one should perform as one enters the Masjid. It is very rewarding.
10. Reward of Salaah multiplied 70 times or more by use of Miswaak
‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) has reported that,
“The prayer before which the Miswak is used is seventy times more excellent than that before which it is not used.”
Ibn Abbas, ‘Ali and Ata (may Allah be pleased with them all) state that,
“But it increases to 99 or 400 times.”
Reward for every action is based on sincerity, the more sincerity we are the the more reward we'll get! It may be that we could get 70, 99 or even 400 times or more rewards for every action depending on how sincere we are in doing the action. Subhanallah!
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO FORWARD,COPY AND PRINT THIS PAGE
http://www.islamicboard.com/worship-islam/134290405-very-rewarding-nafl-salaahs-we-can-pray-everyday.html
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone o_Ó
Monday, September 6, 2010
7 REASONS WHY A SCIENTIST BELIEVES IN GOD
(This article of Mr A. Cressy Morrison, former President of the New York Academy of Sciences, first appeared in the "Reader's Digest (January 1948); then on recommendation of Professor C. A. Coulson, F. R.S., Professor of Mathematics at Oxford University, was republished in the Reader's Digest November 1960) - It shows how science compels the scientists to admit to the essential need of a Supreme Creator.
We are still in the dawn of the scientific age and every increase of light reveals more brightly the handiwork of an intelligent Creator. In the 90 years since Darwin we have made stupendous discoveries; with a spirit of scientific humanity and of faith grounded in knowledge we are approaching even nearer to an awareness of God.
For myself I count seven reasons for my faith.
First:
By unwavering mathematical law we can prove that our universe was designed and executed by a great engineering Intelligence. Suppose you put ten coins, marked from one to ten, into your pocket and give them a good shuffle. Now try to take them out in sequence from one to ten, pulling back the coin each time and shaking them all again. Mathematically we know that your chance of first drawing number one is one in ten; of drawing one and two in succession, one in 100; of drawing one, two and three in succession, one in a thousand, and so on; your chance of drawing them all, from one to number ten in succession, would reach the unbelievable figure of one chance in ten thousand million.
By the same reasoning, so many exacting conditions are necessary for life on earth that they could not possibly exist in proper relationship by chance. The earth rotates on its axis at one thousand miles an hour; if it turned at one hundred miles an hour, our days and nights would be ten times as long as now, and the hot sun would then burn up our vegetation during each long day, while in the long night any surviving sprout would freeze.
Again, the sun, source of our life, has a surface temperature of 12,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and our earth is, just far enough away so that this 'eternal fire" warms us just enough and not too much! If the sun gave off only one-half its present radiation, we would freeze, and if it gave half as much more, we would roast.
The slant of the earth, tilted at an angle of 23 degrees, gives us our season; if it had not been so tilted, vapours from the ocean would move north and south, piling up for us continents of ice. If our moon was, say, only 50 thousand miles away instead of its actual distance. Our tides would be so enormous that twice a day all continents would be submerged; even the mountains would soon be eroded away. If the crust of the earth had been only ten feet thicker, there would be no oxygen without which animal life must die. Had the ocean been a few feet deeper, carbon dioxide and oxygen would have been absorbed and no vegetable life could exist. Or if our atmosphere had been thinner, some of the meteors, now burned in space by the million evey day; would be striking all parts of the earth, starting fires everywhere.
Because of these, and host of other examples, there is not one chance in millions that life on our planet is an accident.
Second:
The resourcefulness of life to accomplish its purpose is a manifestation of all-pervading Intelligence. What life itself is no man has fathomed. It has neither weight nor dimensions, but it does have force; a growing root will crack a rock. Life has conquered water, land and air, mastering the element,
compelling them to dissolve and reform their combinations.
Life, the sculptor, shapes all living things; an artist, it designs every leaf of every tree, and colours every flower. Life is a musician and has each bird to sing its love songs, the insects to call each other in the music of their multitudinous sounds. Life is a sublime chemist, giving taste to fruits and spices, and perfume to the rose changing water and carbonic acid into sugar and wood and, in so doing, releasing oxygen that animals may have the breath of life.
Behold an almost invisible drop of protoplasm, transparent and jelly-like, capable of motion, drawiug energy from the sun. This single cell, this transparent mistlike droplet, holds within itself the germ of life, and has the power to distribute this life to every living thing, great and small. The powers of this droplet are greater than our vegetation and animals and people, for all life came from it. Nature did not create life; fire-blistered rocks and a saltless sea could not meet
the necessarv requirements. Who, then, has put it here ?
Third:
Animal wisdom speaks irresistibly of a good Creator who infused instinct into otherwise helpless little creatures. The young salmon spends years at sea, then comes back to his own river; and travels up the very side of the river into which flows The tributary where he was born.
What brings him back so precisely? If you transfer him to another tributary he will know at once that he is off his course and he will fight his way down and back to the main stream and then turn up against the current to finish his destiny more accurately.
Even more difficult to solve is the mystery of eels. These amazing creatures migrate at maturity from all ponds and rivers everywhere - those from Europe across thousands of miles of oceans - all bound for the same abysmal deeps near Bermuda. There they breed and die. The little ones, with no apparent means of knowing anything except that they are in a wilderness of water; nevertheless find their way back not only to the very shore from which their parent came but thence to the rivers, lakes or little ponds - so that each body of water is always populated with eels. No American eel has ever been caught in Europe, no European eel in American waters. Nature has even delayed the maturity of the European eel by a year or more to make up for its longer journey. Where does the directing iruptilse originate?
A wasp will overpower a grasshopper, dig a hole in the earth, sting the grasshopper in exactly the right place so that he does not die but becomes unconscious and lives on as a form of preserved meat. Then the Wasp will lay her eggs handily so that her children when they hatch can nibble witliout killing' the insect on which they feed, to them dead meat would be fatal. The mother then flies way and dies; she never sees her young. Surely the wasp must have done all this right the first time and every time, or else there would be no wasp. Such mysterious techniques cannot be explained by adaption; they were bestowtd.
Fourth:
Man has something more than animal instinct - the power of reason.
No other animal has ever left a record of its ability to count ten or even to understand the meaning of ten. Where instinct is like a single note of a flute, beautiful but limited, the human brain contains all the notes of all the instruments in the orchestra. No need to belabour this fourth point; thanks to the human, reason we can contemplate the possibility that we are what we are only betause we have received a spark of Universal Intelligence.
Fifth:
Provision for all living is revealed in phenomena which we know today but which Darwin did not know - such as the wonders of genes. So unspeakably tiny are these genes that, if all of them responsible for all living people in the world could be put in one place, there would be less than a thimbleful. Yet these ultra-microscopic genes and their companions, the chromosomes, inhabit every living cell and are the absolute keys to all human, animal and vegetable characteristics. A thimble is a small place in which to put all the individual characteristics of two thousand million human beings. However; the facts are beyond question. Well then, how do genes lock up all the normal heredity of a multitude of ancestors and preserve the psychology of each in such an infinitely small space? Here evolution really begins - at the cell, the entity which holds and carries genes. How a few million atoms, locked up as an ultra-microscopic gene, can absolutely rule all on earth is an example of profound cunning and provision that could emanate only from a Creative Intelligence - no other hypothesis will serve.
Sixth:
By the economy of nature, we are forced to realize that only infinite wisdom could have foreseen and prepared with such astute husbandry.
Many years ago a species of cactus was planted in Australia as a protective fence. Having no insect enemies in Australia the cactus soon began a prodigious growth; the alarming abundance persisted until the plants covered an area as long and wide as England, crowding inhabitants out of the towns and villages, and destroying their farms. Seeking a defence, the entomologists scoured the world; finally they turned up an insect which exclusively feeds on cactus, and would eat nothing else. It would breed freely too; and it had no enemies in Australia. So animal soon conquered vegetable and today the cactus pest has retreated, and with it all but a small protective residue of the insects, enough to hold the cactus in check for ever. Why have not fast-breeding insects dominated the earth? Because they have no lungs such as man possesses; they breathe through tubes. But when insects grow large, their tubes do not grow in ratio to the increasing size of the body. Hence there has never beetn an insect of great size; this limitation on growth has held them all in check.
If this physical check had not been provided, man could not exist. Imagine meeting a hornet as big as a lion!
Seven:
The fact that man can conceive the idea of God is in itself a unique proof.
The conception of god rises from a divine faculty of man, unshared with the rest of our world - the faculty we call imagination. By its power, man and man alone can fmd the evidence of things unseen. The vista that power opens up is unbounded; indeed, as man is perfected, imagination becomes a spiritual reality. He may discern in all the evidence of design and purpose the great truth that heaven is wherever and whatever is; that God is everywhere and in everything, but nowhere so close as in our hearts. It is scientifically as well as imaginatively true; in the words of the palmist; The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament sheweth His handiwork.
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