Signs & Science

Friday, June 26, 2015

World History & Future Implications

Cloning, Cross-Breeding and Transhumanism
No change should there be in the creation of Allah [Quran 30:30]

Mission of the Messengers - I

Abstract

Scriptural records, mythology and archeological evidence together indicate that this is not the first time that humans have technologically advanced - rather ancient human civilisations were far mightier. According to scripture, they indulged in the grave crime of altering creation, and despite repeated warnings, when they persisted in their transgressions, God saved the Believers, and annihilated the criminals and obliterated their wrongs. Satan’s constant enmity for and relentless efforts to destroy mankind, and his methods are mentioned in the scriptures.

As science advances, great strides are being made in genetic engineering and many other fronts. To ensure judicious and beneficial use of technology, it is vital at this juncture for believers, especially scholars, scientists and policy-makers to revisit the scriptures and take guidance from it, lest we unwittingly become Satan’s tool for our own eternal loss.

Full Text

Preamble

The Quran 2:2 begins with the statement that the Book is a guide for the ‘lil’muttaqīna’ [God-conscious]. Among the qualities of the God-conscious is belief in the scripture revealed to Muhammad and the scriptures revealed before him.

The scriptures all speak in unison about multiple grand civilisations of the past, their polytheism, transgressions and corruptions; of guidance and warnings sent through prophets and messengers to those civilisations, and the eventual annihilation of those civilisations.

If the Quran and other scriptures are intended to guide the believers, then why do they repeatedly present examples from the past? What was the crime of those civilisations? What were they being warned about? Why did God intervene and destroy those civilisations? Was it an act of wrath against them or was it an act of mercy to save mankind? What was the mission of the messengers, and more importantly, what is its relevance to us today and implications for the future? Is there an underlying common thread? Will history repeat itself? What are the lessons we need to understand and take to heart? How do we apply those lessons?

In Surah Fatir, it states:

And they swore by Allah (the) strongest (of) their oaths that if came to them a warner, surely, they would be more guided than any (of) the nations. But when came to them a warner, not it increased them but (in) aversion, (Due to) arrogance in the land and plotting (of) the evil; but not encompasses the plot (of) the evil except its own people.
Then do they wait except (the) way (of) the former (people)?

But never you will find in (the) way (of) Allah any change, and never you will find in (the) way (of) Allah any alteration.

[Al-Quran 35:42-43]

Creation

The Quran 32:7 states that God has made good everything that He has created, and Q30:30 states that the correct religion is to incline to the truth, adhering to the natural order or intrinsic nature upon which humans have been created, and warns that there should be no change in the creation of Allah.

الَّذِي أَحْسَنَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقَهُ ۖ وَبَدَأَ خَلْقَ الْإِنسَانِ مِن طِينٍ

[Al-Quran 32:7] Who made all things good which He created, and He began the creation of man from clay;

فَأَقِمْ وَجْهَكَ لِلدِّينِ حَنِيفًا فِطْرَتَ اللَّهِ الَّتِي فَطَرَ النَّاسَ عَلَيْهَا لَا تَبْدِيلَ لِخَلْقِ اللَّهِ ذَٰلِكَ الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمُ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

[Al-Quran 30:30] So direct your face toward the religion, inclining to truth. [Adhere to] the fitrah of Allah upon which He has created [all] people. No change should there be in the creation of Allah . That is the correct religion, but most of the people do not know.

The term ‘correct religion’ [الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمُ] is defined in the Quran at 9:36, 12:40, 30:30, informed about the consequences in 30:43, and surmised in 98:5 as ‘And they were not commanded except to worship Allah , [being] sincere to Him in religion, inclining to truth, and to establish prayer and to give zakah. And that is the correct religion.’

This study focuses on what ‘No change should there be in the creation of Allah’ means in the light of the Quran and Bible.
[Related Post: The Right Religion (Deen) || Water & Earth || Insights into the Creation of Humans || Virgin Birth]

Wronging the NAFS
[Al-Quran 13:10-11] (It is) same (to Him) [of you] (one) who conceals the speech or (one) who publicizes it and (one) who [he] (is) hidden by night or goes freely by day. For him (are) successive (Angels) before him and behind him, who guard him by (the) Command of Allah.
Indeed, Allah (does) not change the condition of a people, until they change what (is) in their NAFS.
And when Allah wills for a people misfortune, then (there is) no turning away of it, and not for them besides Him any protector.
[Related posts: Wronging the Nafs || Human: Body or Soul? || Double Helix]

Corruption of Creation

[Al-Quran 4:1] O mankind! Be conscious your Rab (Lord/Sustainer), the One Who created you from a single nafs, and created from her her mate, and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And be conscious of Allah Whom you ask, with it, and the wombs. Indeed, Allah is over you Ever-Watchful.

[Al-Quran 13:25] But those who break the covenant of Allah after contracting it and sever that which Allah has ordered to be joined and spread corruption on earth - for them is the curse, and they will have the worst home.

Q4:1 states that God has created the human males and females from one ‘nafs’ and instructs humans to keep their duty to Allah and the wombs. Q13:25 states that those who break the covenant of Allah, sever what Allah has ordered to be joined and spread corruption on Earth will be cursed and have the worst home in the Hereafter. Q47:22 also questions similarly: ‘So would you perhaps, if you turned away, cause corruption on earth and sever your wombs?’
[Related posts: Guarding the Womb || The First Humans]

The triliteral root fā sīn dāl (ف س د), of the word wayuf’sidūna translated as corruption in 13:25, and tuf’sidū in 47:22, occurs 50 times in the Quran. The first two occurrences of the triliteral root fā sīn dāl (ف س د) is in Quran 2:11-12: ‘And when it is said to them, “Do not cause corruption on the earth,” they say, “We are but reformers.” Unquestionably, it is they who are the corrupters, but they perceive [it] not.’

Adam’s Covenant and Fall

Al-Quran 20:115 informs us that a covenant was already taken from Adam, but he forgot and there was no firm resolve on his part. The subsequent ayaat go on to relate the event of all angels prostrating to Adam while Iblees (Satan) refused. Adam is forewarned that Satan is an enemy to Adam and his wife; hence to be careful lest Satan causes their expulsion from the Garden where all their needs (food, clothing, comfort) were taken care of. However, they were seduced by Satan and ate from the forbidden tree. Upon eating from it, they realised that they had wronged their Nafs.

Al-Quran 20:123 informs us that, at the time of their expulsion from the Garden to the Earth, Adam and his wife are yet again warned of the enmity between humans and Satan, but that whoever follows God’s guidance will neither lose his way nor fall into misery. The subsequent ayaat of Surah 20 expand upon the result of not heeding to God’s message.
[Related posts: Adam's Attempt to Improve upon Allah's Creation || Adam Facts || Rethink Genetic Engineering in the Light of the Quran (a presentation) || The Covenant & Its Ratification]

Satan’s Plan to Destroy Humans

Modern scientific research points to the origin of RNA in clay. Advances in Genetic Engineering are opening new avenues for alterations in and modification of the ‘code of life’.

Experiments in cloning and cross-breeding on cattle have been going on since the past many years. Though samples for cloning can be taken from anywhere, the most convenient and popular method is to take sample from the ear.

The following ayaat help us understand the relationship between keeping our covenant and duty to God and the womb, and how Satan plans to corrupt creation by means of cloning and cross-breeding:

Al-Quran 4:117-121 informs us that the rebellious Satan is cursed because he has sworn to take a portion of humans and that:

‘… And I will mislead them, and I will arouse in them [sinful] desires, and I will command them so they will slit the ears of cattle, and I will command them so they will change the creation of Allah ." And whoever takes Satan as an ally instead of Allah has certainly sustained a clear loss. …’

Al-Quran 17:61-66 relating the story when the angels were ordered to prostrate to Adam, quotes Iblees' (Satan) objection to prostrate to one made of clay, vowing that ‘I will surely destroy his descendants, except for a few’. Granting Iblees respite till the Day of Resurrection, he is given permission to: ‘Go, for whoever of them follows you, indeed Hell will be the recompense of you - an ample recompense. And incite [to senselessness] whoever you can among them with your voice and assault them with your horses and foot soldiers and become a partner in their wealth and their children and promise them.’

The Quran 2:200-210 discusses the types of pilgrims who undertake the Hajj. Then Q2:204-206 inform us: And of the people (is the one) who pleases you (with) his speech in the life (of) the world, and he calls to witness Allah on what (is) in his heart, and he (is) the most quarrelsome (of) opponents. And when he turns away he strives in the earth to spread corruption [in it], and destroys the crops and progeny. And Allah (does) not love [the] corruption. And when it is said to him "Fear Allah," takes him (his) pride to [the] sins. Then enough for him (is) Hell - [and] surely an evil [the] resting-place.

The Quran 2:208 then commands us thus: O you who believe[d]! Enter in Islam completely, and (do) not follow footsteps (of) the Shaitaan. Indeed, he (is) for you an enemy open.

[Related posts: Satan's Enmity: Origin & Objective || Fuel of Hell: Humans and Stones || Immortality & A Kingdom that Never Decays]

Annihilated Civilisations

Quran Surah 29 mentions the people to whom Noah, Abraham, Lot and Shoaib were sent, and the visionary civilisations of A’d and Samood, and then names the arrogant Qarun, Haman and Firoan (Pharoah), to whom Moses was sent. Ayat 40 informs us that: ‘So each We seized for his sin; and among them were those upon whom We sent a storm of stones, and among them were those who were seized by the blast [from the sky], and among them were those whom We caused the earth to swallow, and among them were those whom We drowned. And Allah would not have wronged them, but it was they who were wronging themselves.’

[Related posts: The Mighty Ancients Text || Presentation || Humans: Extinct & Extant]

Biblical Predictions

Al-Quran 29:43 asserts that though these examples are being presented, none will understand it except the learned / knowledgable. Q29:46 states that: And (do) not argue (with the) People of the Book except by which [it] (is) best, except those who (do) wrong among them, and say, "We believe in that (which) has been revealed to us and was revealed to you. And our God and your God (is) One, and we to Him submit.”

So, what do the books of the People of the Book say about these past civilisations? The following passages of the Bible help comprehend the meanings of the Quranic passages further:

Matthew 24:37-39 and Luke 17:26-30 both foretell that as was in the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of Man be. The Luke 17 passage compares the coming to the days of Lot as well.

Son of Man: The Quran mentions the phrase بَنِي آدَمَ (bani Adam [son/children of Adam/Man]) ten times. According to Wikipedia: 'The expression "the Son of man" occurs 81 times in the Greek text of the four Canonical gospels, and is used only in the sayings of Jesus. The singular Hebrew expression "son of man" (בן–אדם i.e. ben-'adam) also appears in the Hebrew Bible over a hundred times.'

According to Matthew and Luke quoted above, we need to look into the days of Noah and Lot to understand what the future will be like. What was the sin of these civilisations? If polytheism is the sin, there are many polytheists in the world today. If sexual perversity was the sin, there are many indulging in gay relationships today. What degree of transgression and/or corruption had these civilisations crossed which merited their destruction? And why did they have to be destroyed? How were they wronging their NAFS?

Half-Human Hybrid Giants

According to the Al-Quran 71:27, when Noah finally prays to God for deliverance, he is worried that if God spares any one of these people, they will beget a disbelieving, wicked child. A few ayaat earlier, Q71:23, Noah quotes the conspirators from among his people, who had conspired an immense conspiracy, to have said to the people: ‘And said, 'Never leave your gods and never leave Wadd or Suwa' or Yaghuth and Ya'uq and Nasr’.

From Biblical accounts, Genesis 6:2-4, we read about the half-human hybrid giants, who were the children of the sons of God and the daughters of men. It states that ‘the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown’.

Sons of God: according to the Al-Quran 34:41, it is the jinns who are worshipped as gods, and according to Q37:158 the polytheists concoct the jinns lineage with God.

Al-Quran 66:10 presents the examples of wife of Noah and the wife of Lot as disbelievers who were punished for their crime. Q11:42-46 relates the conversation between Noah and his son, and later with God: ‘And Nuh (Noah) called out to his Lord; so said, "Lord! Surely my son is of my family, and surely Your promise is the truth, and You are The Most Judicious of judges.” Said He, "O Nuh, (Noah) surely he is not of your family; surely it is a deed not (Literally: other than being righteous) righteous; so do not ask of Me that of which you have no knowledge. Surely I admonish you that you should not be among the ignorant."’

The wife of Lot is mentioned at least six times in the Quran as one of those punished.

Regarding the people of Lot, Q29:28-30, it states: ‘And [mention] Lot, when he said to his people, "Indeed, you commit such immorality as no one has preceded you with from among the worlds. Indeed, you approach men and obstruct the road and commit in your meetings [every] evil." … He said, "My Lord, support me against the corrupting people.” ’

Were these people abducting non-human males and performing experiments with them? And was this an organised crime, sanctioned by the state? From Q11:78-79 we learn that the people have ‘no claim’ to Lot’s daughters. Did they ‘have claim’ to males or to non-humans or specifically to non-human males only? It seems that the transgressions that these people were practicing had been given the protection of Law by their government. In Q26:165-166, Lot is quoted questioning them: ‘Do you approach males among the worlds And leave what your Lord has created for you as mates? But you are a people transgressing.’

The day before the punishment of the people of Lot, when his people come for his guests, from Q15:70-72 we learn that Lot had been forbidden by his people from (protecting/meeting?) the worlds. Lot is quoted as stating that his daughters are purer for them. Lot’s daughters were humans, while the guests were non-human messengers of God, though from the text I understand that the people probably just thought them to be another sub specie of the genus Homo.

What was the purpose of approaching males of the worlds instead of the mates the Lord had created for them but to create hybrid creatures? People of Noah were indulging in cross-breeding jinns and humans, while the People of Lot went further to commit such immorality as no one had preceded them in the worlds! What were they corrupting? The genetic code of all life-forms?

Q53:52 informs us that the people of Noah were more unjust and more rebellious, as compared to the Aad and Samood civilisations which followed them, both of whom were corrupters; but curiously the adjective for corrupters is not specifically used for the People of Noah anywhere in the Quran. The people of Lot have been termed as both transgressors and corrupters, as quoted above. However, having noted that, it is important to mention here Q7:56 which warns: 'And (do) not cause corruption in the earth after its reformation. And call Him (in) fear and hope. Indeed, (the) Mercy of Allah (is) near for the good-doers.' The Surah then goes on to narrate about the unjust civilisations starting with the People of Noah from Q7:59 all the way till the community of Bani Israel who were converted into apes, as mentioned in Q7:166.

It seems that humans have repeatedly erred, with various civilisations having indulged in various forbidden acts. Hence, it is not surprising that Leviticus 18-20 specifically forbids cross-breeding and other harmful practices.

[Related posts: Crime & Punishment || Balance & Guidance || Immortality & A Kingdom that Never Decays || Wronging the Nafs || Humans: Extinct & Extant]

Mythology

Mythology is replete with legends of gods and goddesses, and their interactions with humans.

Mighty giants, hybrid monsters and strange creatures are the characters that dwell in these incredulous stories. Were these imaginary creatures in the minds of story-tellers or were these real-life creatures that roamed the earth and inspired stories that have endured through millennia and are still part of the pantheon of polytheists?

Comparative studies in mythology have uncovered a number of parallels between the myths of different cultures. Cultures around the world tell stories about a great flood such as the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, Hindu Mythology, Aztec Mythology, Greek Myth of Deucalion, The Norse Ragnarok, the Bible and the Quran.

As Al-Quran 69:11-12 states: ‘Surely We bore you in the ship when the water rose high, So that We may make it a reminder to you, and that the retaining ear might retain it.’

[Related post: The Flood || Noah's Ark]

Archaeological Evidence

Al-Quran 40:82 asks: ‘Have they not traveled through the land and observed how was the end of those before them? They were more numerous than themselves and greater in strength and in impression on the land, but they were not availed by what they used to earn.’

Archaeological remains bear witness to the claim that there dwelt some very mighty civilisations in ancient times, whose ruins indicate that such constructions must have required great bodily strength and/or technology, knowledge of math, astronomy and other sciences, and a fine sense of aesthetics. Stone megaliths, lost cities, ancient gigantic canal networks, and other such findings all point to a grand past of some mighty civilisations!

Statues and engravings of mythological creatures are found in many of these ruins. Some of the imagery and symbolism is echoed across several ancient civilisations, hinting at similar practices and some common origin.
[Related post: The Mighty Ancients Text || Presentation || Humans: Extinct & Extant]

Quranic Predictions

Al-Quran27:76-77 states that this Quran relates to the Children of Israel most of that over which they disagree, and that indeed it is a guidance and a mercy for the believers:

The Creature from The Earth
Al-Quran 27:82 warns us that: ‘And when the word befalls them, We will bring forth for them a creature from the earth speaking to them, [saying] that the people were, of Our verses, not certain [in faith].’
In the same surah that we read دَابَّةً مِّنَ الْأَرْضِ (a creature from the earth), Surah an-Naml, Solomon hears the Queen Ant warning her ants.
In another surah, we read the a similar phrase: Q34:14 دَابَّةُ الْأَرْضِ (a creature (of) the earth), variously understood to be a beast of the Earth, a worm, or a termite: 'And when We decreed for Solomon death, nothing indicated to the jinn his death except a creature of the earth eating his staff. But when he fell, it became clear to the jinn that if they had known the unseen, they would not have remained in humiliating punishment.'

The Dajjal / The Anti-Christ
Referring back to Q71:27, Noah worries that if God spares any one of the conspirators, they will beget a disbelieving, wicked child.

Muslims await the coming of Dajjal (non-Quranic sources), and Christians await the coming of the Anti-Christ. Will it be a hybrid creature who is the result of a misadventure in cross-breeding and/or transhumanism? Muslims expect the ‘dajjal’ to be one-eyed. Mythology is full of one-eyed monsters! Modern media attempts to make one-eyed monsters adorable cartoon characters!
[Related posts: The Prophesy || Jesus – Ascension & Return || Days of Allah || Gog and Magog || Jinn-Human Hybrids]

Smoke from the Sky

Surah adDukhan warns us of a smoke from the sky, a painful punishment prior to the greatest seizure. It also reminds of past extinction events in the Earth's history.

[Related posts: Smoke from the Sky || Stones from the Sky]

The Flood

Among the Quranic predictions for the end of times is the heating and overflowing of the seas.

In the Flood which destroyed the people of Noah, water came from the sky and from the Earth. Q23:27 speaks of ‘the fountains of the earth gush forth’ or ‘the oven gusheth water’, and Q54:11-12 ‘… caused the earth to gush forth springs, so that the waters met for a predestined purpose.’
[Related posts: When the Seas Boil  || The Flood]

The Thunderbolt
Q41:13 also warns of a "a thunderbolt like (the) thunderbolt (of) Aad and Thamud."
[Related posts: The Prophesy || Thunderbolts || Humans: Extinct & Extant]

The Cursed Tree
The trial of the Cursed Tree awaits the people destined for Hell on the Day of Religion (يَوْمَ الدِّينِ).
[Related posts: The Cursed Tree]

Conclusion

The Bible and The Quran, both seem to be pointing to the inevitable, wilful genetic corruption of humans, the re-emergence of monstrous creatures that mythology is replete with, the coming of the Beast, and the eventual extinction event!

However, the Quran is repeatedly inviting to faith and the deen, with glad tidings and warnings. The life of this world is temporary and destined to end, but the life in the Hereafter is to last forever, or till God wills. To recap the deen:

click to enlarge

Al-Quran 8:24 O you who believe! Respond to Allah and His Messenger when he calls you to what gives you life. And know that Allah comes (in) between a man and his heart, and that to Him you will be gathered.

As explained in the following ayaat:

Al-Quran 18:55 And nothing prevents men from believing when the guidance comes to them, and from asking forgiveness of their Lord, except that what happened to the ancients should overtake them, or that the chastisement should come face to face with them.

Al-Quran 29:41-42 The example of those who take allies other than Allah is like that of the spider who takes a home. And indeed, the weakest of homes is the home of the spider, if they only knew. Indeed, Allah knows whatever thing they call upon other than Him. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.

Al-Quran 30:40-43 ‘It is Allah who has created you: further, He has provided for your sustenance; then He will cause you to die; and again He will give you life. Are there any of your (false) “partners” who can do any single one of these things? Glory to Him! and High is He above the partners they attribute (to Him). Mischief has appeared on land and sea because of (the meed) that the hands of men have earned. That (Allah) may give them a taste of some of their deeds: in order that they may turn back (from evil). Say: “Travel through the earth and see what was the end of those before (you): Most of them worshipped others besides Allah.” But set thou thy face to the right religion, before there comes from Allah the Day which there is no chance of averting: on that Day shall men be divided (in two).’

A question that comes to mind is that though the corrupters who create these hybrids are wilfully indulging in this crime, what about the hybrids themselves? Is it their fault that their genome is the way it is? Will they be judged for what was beyond their control or will? The Quran reassures us that Allah is the Most Just of Judges, and no one will be wronged. However, for the humans who participate or assist in such crimes, they are forewarned of a dreadful punishment, as indicated by these ayaat:

List of Related Posts

References & Links

Quran

https://quran.com/
http://corpus.quran.com/

http://www.islamawakened.com/

http://www.quranexplorer.com/quran/

http://searchtruth.com/list.php

Bible

https://www.biblegateway.com

http://beginningandend.com/

http://beginningandend.com/nephilim-giants-bible/

http://www.bibleandkoran.net/verhaal.php?lIntEntityId=14

Genetic Engineering

http://www.geogene.com/

http://www.geogene.com/genetic-eng-basics.html

http://www.douglashamp.com/how-the-mark-of-the-beast-will-rewrite-the-human-genome-part-three-corrupting-the-image/

Clay & RNA

http://exploringorigins.org/nucleicacids.html

https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/articles/2012/2/20/rna-origins-in-sheets-of-clay/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RNA_world

http://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/abscicon2015/pdf/7689.pdf

http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/361/1474/1777

http://www.reasons.org/articles/hypernaturalism-and-the-origin-of-life

Ear Tag & Cloning

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ear_tag

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earmark_(agriculture)

http://www.miraclesofthequran.com/scientific_101.html

Mythology

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mythology

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparative_mythology

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legendary_creature

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mythological_hybrid

http://www.thunderbolts.info/wp/
http://humansarefree.com/2013/12/the-amazing-connections-between-inaca.html
http://www.academia.edu/8322478/Horned_Gods_A_Comparative_Mythology_Perspective

Archaeological Discoveries

Stone Monoliths / Megaliths

Megalith around the world

Super Megalith found in Russia

List of largest monoliths in the world

Lost Cities

National Geographic website features the photos and brief intros about the following lost cities: Petra, Machu Picchu, Palenque , Ancient Troy, Mohen jo Daro, Palmyra, Ruins at Tanis, Great Enclosure, Persepolis, Stonehenge and Mesa Verde

Other Wondrous Discoveries

Ancient Canal Network

Ancient Canal Builders
Ancient Flying Machines

Ancient Giants

Ley Lines: The Art of Alignment

Very Long Alignments

Ruins 8,000 - 25,000 years old

Epoch Times has listed the following 5 Mysterious Ruins That Predate Known Civilization?

Bosnian Pyramid Oldest in World: 25,000 Years Old

Gobekli Tepe, Turkey: 11,000 Years Old

Yonaguni Monument, Japan’s Atlantis: 8,000 Years Old

Gulf of Khambhat, Israel: 9,500 Years Old

Bimini Road: 12,000 Years Old

Ruin over 100,000 years old?

ADAM'S CALENDAR AND THE HIDDEN RUINS OF SOUTHERN AFRICA

Last updated on August 4, 2019

Sunday, May 17, 2015

World Hunger & Slavery

Population Growth & Food Resources

Morality & Homicide

Abstract

Quran (6:151, 17:30-31) identifies poverty as the reason for hunger, and dismisses the notion that population growth leads to hunger, explicitly prohibiting the killing of children due to or out of fear of poverty. At another place, the Quran (Surah 90) exhorts the free citizens to reduce inequality by freeing slaves and feeding the hungry, stating that these are the difficult yet required things to do. Quran (2:177) lists giving of wealth to the needy and freeing of slaves among the righteous deeds.

According to the statistics, the agricultural yields are more than enough for the current and forecasted world population, yet one in every nine people on our planet suffers hunger every day! Though decrease in population growth is promoted as a remedy to the problem, yet no direct correlation has been found between population density and hunger. Unjust economic systems lead to Poverty and Inequality, which in turn cause Hunger, Indebtedness and Enslavement!

An estimated 21 - 36 million people are enslaved today. Though legal slavery was finally banished from all countries in the world by 1981, yet its only changed in title and form - humans continue to be enslaved by fellow human beings.

This article explores the meaning of the divine instruction and guidance in terms of the relevant information available.

Full Text

The Quran repeatedly states that ‘rizq’ is provided by Allah. It warns to not to kill children because of fear of lack of food.

…وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا أَوْلَادَكُم مِّنْ إِمْلَاقٍ ۖ نَّحْنُ نَرْزُقُكُمْ وَإِيَّاهُمْ …

[Al-Qur’an 6:151, translator: Sahih International] Say, "Come, I will recite what your Lord has prohibited to you. [He commands] that you not associate anything with Him, and to parents, good treatment, and do not kill your children out of poverty; We will provide for you and them. And do not approach immoralities - what is apparent of them and what is concealed. And do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden [to be killed] except by [legal] right. This has He instructed you that you may use reason."

وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا أَوْلَادَكُمْ خَشْيَةَ إِمْلَاقٍ ۖ نَّحْنُ نَرْزُقُهُمْ وَإِيَّاكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ قَتْلَهُمْ كَانَ خِطْئًا كَبِيرًا …

[Al-Qur’an 17:30-31, translator: Sahih International] Indeed, your Lord extends provision for whom He wills and restricts [it]. Indeed He is ever, concerning His servants, Acquainted and Seeing. And do not kill your children for fear of poverty. We provide for them and for you. Indeed, their killing is ever a great sin.

Quran identifies poverty as the reason for hunger, and dismisses the notion that population growth leads to hunger. At another place, it exhorts the free citizens to reduce inequality by freeing slaves and feeding the hungry, stating that these are the difficult things to do:

[Al-Qur’an 90:11-18, translator: Sahih International] But he has not broken through the difficult pass. And what can make you know what is [breaking through] the difficult pass? It is the freeing of a slave Or feeding on a day of severe hunger An orphan of near relationship Or a needy person in misery And then being among those who believed and advised one another to patience and advised one another to compassion. Those are the companions of the right.

The following ayat lists giving of wealth to the needy and freeing of slaves among the righteous deeds:

[Al-Qur’an 2:177, translator: Sahih International] Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, but [true] righteousness is [in] one who believes in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets and gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask [for help], and for freeing slaves; [and who] establishes prayer and gives zakah; [those who] fulfill their promise when they promise; and [those who] are patient in poverty and hardship and during battle. Those are the ones who have been true, and it is those who are the righteous.

Morality & Homicide

Killing is a major crime. Hence, where it forbids the killing of children, Quran 6:151 also stresses on: ‘And do not approach immoralities - what is apparent of them and what is concealed.’ Quran 17:31 states that ‘‘…Indeed, their killing is ever a khiṭ'an kabīran’: a grave offence, a great disobedience, a monstrous error, a great sin!

The Quran 4:1 warns us to keep our duty regarding the الْأَرْحَامَ (the wombs). This Arabic word is generally mistranslated as relations or ties of kinship. For more on this, please read Guarding the Womb.

A horrifying video of the torturous killing in an abortion: The Silent Scream

Sex, and especially sex outside marriage, may lead to unwanted pregnancies. Scholars have differing opinions on whether contraception is permissible or not, or if only some methods are permissible.

Some cultures also value one gender over another, especially the girl child is generally unwanted and unwelcome. Consequently, a number of people resort to abortions, especially female foeticide / infanticide. Quran condemns it and will hold people accountable for it:

[Al-Qur’an 81:8-9, translator: Sahih International] And when the girl [who was] buried alive is asked For what sin she was killed?

Dating and prostitution are actions which have socio-moral implications, and are prohibited in Islam. More on this at: Is Temporary Marriage the Halal Alternate to Dating?

Poverty, Hunger & Population Growth

According to estimates, about half the world population survives on $2 a day. Consequently, about 805 million people were estimated to be chronically undernourished in 2012–14, which means one in every nine people on our planet suffers hunger every day!

A key word used in both 6:151 and 17:30-31 is poverty. Contraception and Family Planning are being aggressively promoted to mitigate global population, and the marketing slogan is that less people leads to better sharing of finite resources. However, facts do not support this position:

http://www.globalissues.org/article/205/does-overpopulation-cause-hunger

‘Do too many people already cause hunger? If that were the case, then reducing population density might indeed alleviate hunger. But for one factor to cause another, the two must consistently occur together. Population density and hunger do not.

Hunger is not caused by too many people sharing the land. In the Central America and Caribbean region, for example, Trinidad and Tobago show the lowest percentage of stunted children under five and Guatemala the highest (almost twelve times greater); yet Trinidad and Tobago's cropland per person-a key indicator of human population density-is less than half that of Guatemala's. Costa Rica, with only half of Honduras' cropped acres per person, boasts a life expectancy-one indicator of nutrition-eleven years longer than that of Honduras and close to that of northern countries.

In Asia, South Korea has just under half the farmland per person found in Bangladesh, yet no one speaks of overcrowding causing hunger in South Korea.

Surveying the globe, we in fact can find no direct correlation between population density and hunger. For every Bangladesh, a densely populated and hungry country, we find a Nigeria, Brazil, or Bolivia, where significant food resources per capita coexist with hunger. Or we find a country like the Netherlands, where very little land per person has not prevented it from eliminating hunger and becoming a large net exporter of food […]

In 1989 Cornell University sociologists Frederick Buttel and Laura Raynolds published a careful study of population growth, food consumption, and other variables in ninety-three third world countries. Their statistical analysis found no evidence that rapid population growth causes hunger. What they did find was that the populations of poorer countries, and those countries where the poorest 20 percent of the population earned a smaller percentage of a nation's total income, had less to eat. In other words, poverty and inequality cause hunger.’

To get a clearer perspective of the issue, the following two speeches are worth listening to:

Food First: Dismantling Racism in the Food System (Just Food Keynote address by Eric Holt-Giménez)

http://foodfirst.org/2015-just-food-conference-keynote-by-eric-holt-gimenez-dismantling-racism-in-the-food-system/

The Hidden Reason for Poverty the World Needs to Address Now (TED talk by Gary Haugen):

http://www.ted.com/talks/gary_haugen_the_hidden_reason_for_poverty_the_world_needs_to_address_now#t-1014093

Modern Day Slavery

Quran 2:177, 4:92, 5:89, 9:60, 58:3 and 90:13 stress on the freeing of slaves, as a righteous deed, as one of the uses of zakat money, and as an expiation of sins.

An estimated 21 - 36 million people are enslaved today generating billion of dollars for traffickers each year. Though legal slavery was finally banished from all countries in the world by 1981, yet its only changed in title and form, as: Bonded labour, Child slavery, Early and forced marriage, Forced labour, Descent-based slavery, and Trafficking. Humans continue to be enslaved by fellow human beings: ‘from women forced into prostitution, children and adults forced to work in agriculture, domestic work, or factories and sweatshops producing goods for global supply chains, entire families forced to work for nothing to pay off generational debts; or girls forced to marry older men, the illegal practice still blights contemporary world.’

The following are links to some websites highlighting the gravity of the situation:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contemporary_slavery

http://www.antislavery.org/english/slavery_today/what_is_modern_slavery.aspx

http://endslaverynow.org/learn/slavery-today

http://borgenproject.org/10-statistics-on-slavery-today/

https://www.freetheslaves.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/FTS_factsheet-Nov17.2.pdf

http://www.theworldcounts.com/stories/Modern_Day_Slavery_Statistics

http://blogs.plos.org/speakingofmedicine/2014/05/28/new-statistics-modern-day-slavery-reveal-shameful-profitable-business/

http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/category/the-facts/

Future Potential of Agricultural Production

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations [FAO]’s World agriculture: towards 2015/2030 Summary report reads:

‘In recent years the growth rates of world agricultural production and crop yields have slowed. This has raised fears that the world may not be able to grow enough food and other commodities to ensure that future populations are adequately fed.

However, the slowdown has occurred not because of shortages of land or water but rather because demand for agricultural products has also slowed. This is mainly because world population growth rates have been declining since the late 1960s, and fairly high levels of food consumption per person are now being reached in many countries, beyond which further rises will be limited. But it is also the case that a stubbornly high share of the world’s population remains in absolute poverty and so lacks the necessary income to translate its needs into effective demand.

As a result, the growth in world demand for agricultural products is expected to fall from an average 2.2 percent a year over the past 30 years to 1.5 percent a year for the next 30. In developing countries the slowdown will be more dramatic, from 3.7 percent to 2 percent, partly as a result of China having passed the phase of rapid growth in its demand for food.

This study suggests that world agricultural production can grow in line with demand, provided that the necessary national and international policies to promote agriculture are put in place. Global shortages are unlikely, but serious problems already exist at national and local levels and may worsen unless focused efforts are made.’

Historical Evidence of Mass Agriculture

Food has always been available in large quantities, and evidence for mass agriculture is building up. Ancient Egypt flourished with subterranean rivers making its land fertile. Pharaoh is quoted in the Quran:

[Al-Qur’an 43:51, translator: Sahih International] And Pharaoh called out among his people; he said, "O my people, does not the kingdom of Egypt belong to me, and these rivers flowing beneath me; then do you not see?”

A recent discovery is of massive underground water resources in Africa: http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/7/2/024009/pdf/1748-9326_7_2_024009.pdf

A gigantic ancient canal network has been discovered, reported as follows:

http://earthepochs.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-largest-man-made-system-on-earth.html

‘The largest wide-array man made (or at least non natural) structure in the world is in fact an ancient terra formed systems of agricultural-aquaculture canals in Northwestern Botswana and Northeastern Namibia, north of the Kalahari Desert in Southern Africa. Obviously quite ancient, the canal systems no longer provide free flowing water throughout its 105,000 mile array, but many sections show obvious intention to provide cross sectional irrigation.

These canals are too evenly spaced over too large an area to be any kind of natural formation. Based on entry and exit points, it is readily apparent this system is a very large, controlled agronomy array and/or aquaculture system. Its age is defined by the overgrown nature of the canals, as well as some areas that are covered over with drift and sand erosion.

The entire complex covers an area about equal in size to the State of Arizona in the USA. The canals are an integrated system of apparent irrigation and agricultural (and probably aquaculture) design. The system is about 350 miles in width and about 300 miles in depth. (For the remnants still visible.) This system represents roughly 67 MILLION acres of sustainable agriculture. Given the sophistication of design, it is entirely plausible to assume an above average yield, i.e. feeding well over 90 persons per acre on an annual basis.’

References

Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

FAO Hunger Map 2014: http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/ess/foodsecurity/poster_web_001_WFS.jpg

FAO Food Outlook (published May 2015): http://www.fao.org/3/a-I4581E.pdf

State of Food Insecurity in the World:

http://www.fao.org/publications/sofi/en/

http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4037e.pdf

Food & Nutrition in Numbers 2014: http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4175e.pdf

Food Security Indicators: http://www.fao.org/economic/ess/ess-fs/ess-fadata/en/#.VU4DStpViko

World Food Program (WFP)

Statistics: https://www.wfp.org/hunger/stats

FAQs: https://www.wfp.org/hunger/faqs