آدم وحواء

أولاً:لم تكن جنة أدم وحواء جنة الآخرة فجنة الآخرة لايخرج منها أحد ولا يدخلها الشيطان وليس بها نهى أو تحريم ويدخلها الفائزون بعد الموت والحساب.

ثانياً: والأهم لا تقل أن حواء هى التى أخرجت آدم من الجنة فالتقصير كان منهما معا. بل تقع المسئولية الأكبر على سيدنا آدم عليه وعلى نبينا الصلاة والسلام لأنه هو من تلقى الأمر من الله وكُلِّفَ بتبليغه لزوجه "وَقُلْنَا يَا آدَمُ اسْكُنْ أَنتَ وَزَوْجُكَ الْجَنَّةَ وَكُلَا مِنْهَا رَغَدًا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمَا وَلَا تَقْرَبَا هَٰذِهِ الشَّجَرَةَ فَتَكُونَا مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ" البقرة 35.

وقال تعالى "فَوَسْوَسَ إِلَيْهِ الشَّيْطَانُ قَالَ يَا آدَمُ هَلْ أَدُلُّكَ عَلَىٰ شَجَرَةِ الْخُلْدِ وَمُلْكٍ لَّا يَبْلَىٰ ¤ فَأَكَلَا مِنْهَا فَبَدَتْ لَهُمَا سَوْآتُهُمَا وَطَفِقَا يَخْصِفَانِ عَلَيْهِمَا مِن وَرَقِ الْجَنَّةِ ۚ وَعَصَىٰ آدَمُ رَبَّهُ فَغَوَىٰ" طه 120-121.

ثالثاً: لا ينبغى أن نقول أن آدم طُرِد من الجنة فليس من الأدب مع الله أو الأدب مع الأنبياء استخدام هذه الألفاظ ولكن نقول كما قال تعالى "فَأَزَلَّهُمَا الشَّيْطَانُ عَنْهَا فَأَخْرَجَهُمَا مِمَّا كَانَا فِيهِ ۖ وَقُلْنَا اهْبِطُوا بَعْضُكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ عَدُوٌّ ۖ وَلَكُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ مُسْتَقَرٌّ وَمَتَاعٌ إِلَىٰ حِينٍ" البقرة 36

آزر عم سيدنا إبراهيم وليس والده

هناك ألفاظ قرآنية لا يتداولها العرب فمثلاً عندما قال الله تعالى فى سورة النساء (وَأَن تَجْمَعُوا بَيْنَ الْأُخْتَيْنِ) لا يجوز الجمع بين الزوجة وأختها أو الزوجة وأمها أو الزوجة وعمتها أو خالتها، مع أن الأخت لا تعنى الأم أو العمة أو الخالة لكنه لفظ قرآنى.

(وَإِذْ قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ لِأَبِيهِ آزَرَ أَتَتَّخِذُ أَصْنَامًا آلِهَةً ۖ إِنِّي أَرَاكَ وَقَوْمَكَ فِي ضَلَالٍ مُّبِينٍ) سورة الأنعام – ولم يقل والده فالوالد هو سبب وجود أولاده أما الأب فقد يكون من قام بالتربية فقط مثل آزر الذى ربى سيدنا إبراهيم بعد وفاة والده تارح. وعرفاناً بجميل العم عليه، كان سيدنا إبراهيم يدعوه إلى الله بأسلوب مهذب رقيق لأنه كان يخاف عليه من العذاب (يَا أَبَتِ إِنِّي أَخَافُ أَن يَمَسَّكَ عَذَابٌ مِّنَ الرَّحْمَٰنِ فَتَكُونَ لِلشَّيْطَانِ وَلِيًّا) سورة مريم. لم يكن عم سيدنا إبراهيم كأبى طالب عم النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم الذى كان يدافع عنه، بل هدده بالرجم (قَالَ أَرَاغِبٌ أَنتَ عَنْ آلِهَتِي يَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ ۖ لَئِن لَّمْ تَنتَهِ لَأَرْجُمَنَّكَ ۖ وَاهْجُرْنِي مَلِيًّا قَالَ سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكَ ۖ سَأَسْتَغْفِرُ لَكَ رَبِّي ۖ إِنَّهُ كَانَ بِي حَفِيًّا) سورة مريم. لكن الله لا يرضى أن يستغفر نبي لعدو من أعداء الله (مَا كَانَ لِلنَّبِيِّ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَن يَسْتَغْفِرُوا لِلْمُشْرِكِينَ وَلَوْ كَانُوا أُولِي قُرْبَىٰ مِن بَعْدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُمْ أَنَّهُمْ أَصْحَابُ الْجَحِيمِ وَمَا كَانَ اسْتِغْفَارُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ لِأَبِيهِ إِلَّا عَن مَّوْعِدَةٍ وَعَدَهَا إِيَّاهُ فَلَمَّا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ أَنَّهُ عَدُوٌّ لِّلَّهِ تَبَرَّأَ مِنْهُ ۚ إِنَّ إِبْرَاهِيمَ لَأَوَّاهٌ حَلِيمٌ) سورة التوبة – كما أوضح الله تعالى هذا المبدأ لسيدنا نوح الذى كان يستغفر لابنه (وَنَادَىٰ نُوحٌ رَّبَّهُ فَقَالَ رَبِّ إِنَّ ابْنِي مِنْ أَهْلِي وَإِنَّ وَعْدَكَ الْحَقُّ وَأَنتَ أَحْكَمُ الْحَاكِمِينَ قَالَ يَا نُوحُ إِنَّهُ لَيْسَ مِنْ أَهْلِكَ ۖ إِنَّهُ عَمَلٌ غَيْرُ صَالِحٍ ۖ فَلَا تَسْأَلْنِ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ ۖ إِنِّي أَعِظُكَ أَن تَكُونَ مِنَ الْجَاهِلِينَ). سور هود
والدليل على أن آزر عم سيدنا إبراهيم أن إبراهيم توقف عن الاستغفار له عندما مات آزر كافراً وكان هذا فى بابل بالعراق فكيف يعود ويستغفر له بعد هجرته إلى مكة وبعد أن أعطاه الله سيدنا إسماعيل وسيدنا إسحاق؟ (رَبِّ اجْعَلْنِي مُقِيمَ الصَّلَاةِ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِي ۚ رَبَّنَا وَتَقَبَّلْ دُعَاءِ رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لِي وَلِوَالِدَيَّ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَوْمَ يَقُومُ الْحِسَابُ) سورة إبراهيم.

The Prophet's jobs

The Prophets' names and jobs [the Prayer and Peace of Allah be upon them all]:
1. Prophet Adam آدم was a farmer.
2. Prophet Idris إدريس was a tailor.
3. Prophet Noah نوح was a carpenter.
4. Prophet Hud هود was a shepherd.
5. Prophet Salih صالح was a shepherd.
6. Prophet Lut لوط was a shepherd.
7. Prophet Abraham إبراهيم was a cloth merchant.
8. Prophet Ishmael إسماعيل was a hunter.
9. Prophet Isaac إسحاق was a shepherd.
10. Prophet Jacob يعقوب was a shepherd.
11. Prophet Joseph يوسف was a minister.
12. Prophet Shuayb شعيب was a shepherd.
13. Prophet Job أيوب was a shepherd.
14. Prophet Ezekiel ذو الكفل (not mentioned).
15. Prophet Jonah يونس was a shepherd.
16. Prophet Aaron هارون was a shepherd.
17. Prophet Moses موسى was a shepherd.
18. Prophet Elijah إلياس was a weaver.
19. Prophet Elisha اليسع (not mentioned).
20. Prophet David داوود was a blacksmith and a king.
21. Prophet Solomon سليمان was a king.
22. Prophet Zachariah زكريا was a carpenter.
23. Prophet John يحيى was a carpenter.
24. Prophet Jesus عيسى was a physician.
25. Prophet Muhammad was a shepherd, then a merchant and later the ruler of Muslims.
*Some jobs in the above list need further scrutiny.

لغز بناء الأهرامات تكشفه آية قرآنية

كل النظريات المقترحة لبناء الأهرامات لم تفسر تفسيراً منطقياً كيف استطاع المصريون القدماء نقل الكتل التى يصل وزنها إلى15  طن إلى قمة الهرم. لم تفسر أيضاً كيف استطاعوا صقل الصخور لتكون ملساء لدرجة أنها لا تسمح بمرور الهواء بينها كما أنها متماسكة ومقاومة للزلازل. العجيب أننا نكرر طريقة تشبه طريقة بناء الأهرامات فى حياتنا اليومية دون أن نلاحظ.

عمود الخرسانة الذى يزن حوالى 1.5 طن نقوم بصبه وليس برفعه بالرغم من وجود التكنولوجيا والمعدات اللازمة لذلك. نقوم بخلط الرمل والكسر والأسمنت والماء ثم ننقل الخليط بكميات صغير ونصبه فى قوالب ثم نتركه حتى يجف حتى نستطيع بناء المزيد فوقه.

كانت بيوت الفراعنة أحادية الطوابق ولكن عندما أرادوا بناء صروح مرتفعة كانوا يقومون بعمل خليط يشبه الخرسانة ولكن من الحجر الكلسى أو الحجر الجيرى. كانوا يفتتون قطع الأحجار وينقلونها إلى المكان المراد وضع الحجارة به فى حاويات تشبه القصعة ثم يخلطونها بالماء فتصبح طيناً ثم يصبون هذا الطين فى قوالب من الحديد (تم العثور على أجسام حديديّة في مصر يرجع تاريخها إلى حوالي 3500 قبل الميلاد، وكانت تحتوي على 7.5% من النيكل) ثم يوقدون النار حول القالب فتكتسب صلابة مثلما يحدث مع الفخار مثلاً.

ولأن فرعون أراد أن يرى إله موسى الذى يسكن السماء كلف وزيره ببناء صرح مرتفع يمكنه من النظر والبحث فى السماء. قال الله تعالى: وَقَالَ فِرْعَوْنُ يَا أَيُّهَا الْمَلَأُ مَا عَلِمْتُ لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَٰهٍ غَيْرِي فَأَوْقِدْ لِي يَا هَامَانُ عَلَى الطِّينِ فَاجْعَل لِّي صَرْحًا لَّعَلِّي أَطَّلِعُ إِلَىٰ إِلَٰهِ مُوسَىٰ وَإِنِّي لَأَظُنُّهُ مِنَ الْكَاذِبِينَ (38) سورة القصص

هذه النظرية تفسر وصول الكتل الحجرية العملاقة إلى قمة الهرم. أيضا تفسر هذه النظرية صقل الأحجار (لم يكن صقلاً فى الحقيقة بل صباً فى قالب مصقول). الجدير بالذكر أن الحجر الأول فى دوره كان يصب فى قالب مكعب له أربعة جوانب بدون قاعدة حتى يتلاصق مع القاعدة أسفله أما الأحجار المجاورة تصب فى قالب له ثلاثة جوانب فقط والحجر الأول يكون الجانب الرابع للقالب وهذا يفسر التصاق الأحجار ببعضها بهذا الشكل. كما أن عملية الصب لم تكن فى قالب واحد وهذا يفسر اختلاف الأحجار فى حجمها بما يتناسب مع ميل الهرم.

والآن تخيل معى هذا المشهد: مجموعة من العمال يحملون قطع من الحجارة ومجموعة أخرى يفتتون هذه الحجارة ومجموعة يحملون هذا المسحوق ومجموعة يحملون الماء ومجموعة يصبون الطين فى القوالب ومجموعة يحملون الوقود كالخشب أو الحطب .. الخ. كأنك تشاهد مجموعة من عمال البناء يبنون أحد الأبراج السكنية المجاورة.
والسؤال الأخير: لماذا اختار المصريون القدماء الشكل الهرمى؟ لأن الهرم لا يمكن أن يتهدم. لماذا؟ لأنه متهدم بالفعل. كيف؟ لنفرض أنك تشاهد برجاً يتم هدمه أو أنه تهدم بفعل زلزال مثلاً فستجد أن أطلال المبنى تأخذ هذا الشكل: قاعدة عريضة تتناقص أبعادها كلما ارتفعنا عن الأرض حتى نصل لقمة مدببة - الهرم. إذن فالأهرامات بنيت على شكل أبنية متهدمة فكيف تتهدم؟
للمزيد من التفاصيل شاهد فيديو الدكتور مصطفى محمود "الهرم المعجزة"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chl7mRI2J6c 

Fascinating plants

Plants, just like any other thing, can be bizarre sometimes. Check this out..

(1) Carnivorous plants

Yes, you read right. But wait! These plants do not have razor-sharp teeth like those of a shark or talons like those of an eagle. They do not stalk prey as lionesses either. Then what are they?

In a soil that is low in nitrogen and phosphorus, but with sunlight and water available, plants need to get those nutrients from an alternate source. Carnivorous plants have evolved some – if not all – of the following: the production of lures, digestive enzymes, modified leaf structures, and the decreased rate of photosynthesis over total leaf area. With various techniques according to each species, insects and other arthropods are common prey. Interestingly enough, frogs, rats and even birds (though they were probably sick or already near death) have been reported.
Choosing the right birthday present is no longer a problem. Who likes insects creeping or buzzing around at home?

(2) Water lilies

This family is native to the shallow waters of the Amazon River basin in South America. It has the largest leaves and the longest stem. The largest leaf ever recorded was 10 feet (about 3 meters) in diameter and the submerged stalk 26 feet (about 8 meters) in length.

The flowers are no less strange. They can be as big as 16 inches (40cm) in diameter. They are white the first night they are open and turn pink the second night. What’s more, unlike most flowers that are pollinated by bees, butterflies or the wind, lily flowers are pollinated by beetles.
Can it make a good tray? Or a good tambourine?

(3) Shy plants

Mimosa Pudica, or the sensitive plant, has its compound leaves fold inward and droop when touched or shaken. Native to Central and South America, this plant is a mystery to botanists across the globe who seek to understand its ‘feelings’. Although it reopens a few minutes later, it repeats the same reaction if touched or shaken again.

Flying fish

Have you ever heard of flying fish? They do not fly the way birds do but they can make considerable leaps above the surface of the water while flapping their wing-like pectoral fins, which makes them technically appear flying.

* Habitat

They live in all the oceans, particularly in tropical and subtropical waters to a depth of about 655 ft (200 m).

* Evolution

Just like many other creatures which evolve morphologically, a flying fish has developed its cranium, vertebral column, fins and tail in order to get aerodynamic advantages increasing its speed and improving its aim.

* Flight

Scientists believe flying fish resorted to flying to avoid their many predators e.g. dolphins, mackerel, tuna, swordfish, marlin and other larger fish. One glide can take the fish out of the danger zone and land it into safety. At the end of a glide, a flying fish folds its pectoral fins to re-enter the water, or drop its tail to push against the water to lift for another glide, possibly changing direction.

* Diet

Flying fish are omnivorous, and they feed mainly on plankton.

* Records

The longest non-stop flight took 45 seconds.

Flying fish can reach speeds of more than 43 mph (70 km/h).

The maximum altitude was 20 ft (6 m).

The longest distance was 650 ft (198 m).

After all, fish can swim, walk, crawl, skip, climb trees and also fly. What else?

الرد على التنويريين

الطاعة لا تشترط الاقتناع

لو بتركن عربيتك فلقيت ولد بيقولك ماتركنش هنا عشان كمان شوية النقاشين حيشتغلوا فى البلكونة اللى فوقك دى وعربيتك حتتوسخ. حتحركها فورا وتشكر الولد كمان. هل ممكن نعتبر دى طاعة؟ طبعا لا عشان ده اللى كنت حتعمله بغض النظر مين اللى بينصحك. الكلام مقنع. لكن لو نفس الولد طلب حاجة مش مقنعة زى مثلا إنه ياخد العربية، ساعتها حتقوله روح يا شاطر العب بعيد

شوف بقه الموقف ده. واحد بيشتغل عندك بيطلب منك ترجع زميله الشغل وانت رافض. ييجى مدير مكتبك ويترجاك برده ترفض. ييجى أعز أصدقاءك وبعدين أخوك الكبير مفيش فايدة. لكن مكالمة تليفون من والدك تخليك ترجعه الشغل فى نفس اليوم ومن غير خصم. هى دى الطاعة

فكر كده.. لغيت قرارك وقواعد الشغل ونسيت المشاكل اللى حصلت وافتكرت بس ان اللى بيكلمك يبقى والدك - الراجل اللى كان سبب فى وجودك - اللى رباك وكبرك وعلمك وفضله عليك أكبر من الكلام. طيب ربك اللى خلقك واداك الأب ده وكمان أم وكمان جعل لك السمع والبصر والفؤاد وأسبغ عليك نعمه ظاهرة وباطنة لما يأمرك بشيء حتقوله ايه؟ لازم اقتنع الأول؟ ساعتها تنسى العقل والمنطق وتنسى حتى اللى اتعلمته وتقول سمعنا وأطعنا بمنتهى الخضوع والاستسلام

الجماعة التنويريين اللى بيتشدقوا بالعقل والمنطق هم فى الواقع ورثة الشيطان. الشيطان هو أول واحد اشترط الاقتناع قبل الامتثال للأمر. لما ربنا أمر الملائكة تسجد لآدم سجدوا دون تردد. ده آدم اللى هم عارفين إنه خلق من تراب وإن ربنا لم ينف عنه الإفساد وسفك الدماء لكن الطاعة تلغى العقل. الشيطان بقه رفض الأمر عشان ماقتنعش. (لَمْ أَكُن لِّأَسْجُدَ لِبَشَرٍ خَلَقْتَهُ مِن صَلْصَالٍ مِّنْ حَمَإٍ مَّسْنُونٍ) كان ناقص يحرك نضارته لفوق شويه ويقول لربنا: انا راجل باحترم عقلى قوى واللى مايقبلهوش عقلى مايلزمنيش

شوف لما ربنا عاتب سيدنا آدم وزوجه (أَلَمْ أَنْهَكُمَا عَن تِلْكُمَا الشَّجَرَةِ وَأَقُل لَّكُمَا إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ لَكُمَا عَدُوٌّ مُّبِينٌ) كان يقدر سيدنا آدم يقول لربنا: وهو أنا يعنى اللى خلقت الشجرة ولا أنا اللى خلقت الشيطان؟ لكن بمنتهى الخضوع والذل لله (قَالَا رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَا أَنفُسَنَا وَإِن لَّمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ)

لما ربنا أمر سيدنا إبراهيم ياخد زوجته وابنه الرضيع ويتركهم بواد غير ذى زرع امتثل للأمر مع إن المنطق بيقول ده انتحار. ولما ربنا أمره بذبح ابنه وهو أمر يهدم العقل والمنطق، سيدنا إبراهيم المؤمن بالله قال لإبنه (إِنِّي أَرَىٰ فِي الْمَنَامِ أَنِّي أَذْبَحُكَ فَانظُرْ مَاذَا تَرَىٰ ۚ قَالَ يَا أَبَتِ افْعَلْ مَا تُؤْمَرُ ۖ سَتَجِدُنِي إِن شَاءَ اللَّهُ مِنَ الصَّابِرِينَ) لو كان سيدنا إسماعيل تنويري كان قال لأبيه: انت ايه معندكش عقل؟ أى حاجة ربك يقولهالك تنفذها؟

ولما ربنا أمر سيدنا موسى يضرب بعصاه البحر لم يتردد (فَأَوْحَيْنَا إِلَىٰ مُوسَىٰ أَنِ اضْرِب بِّعَصَاكَ الْبَحْرَ ۖ فَانفَلَقَ فَكَانَ كُلُّ فِرْقٍ كَالطَّوْدِ الْعَظِيمِ) تخيل انت رد سيدنا موسى لو كان تنويرى

مناسك الحج تعتبر نموذج للانصياع لأوامر الله يقولنا نطوف سبع أشواط عكس اتجاه عقارب الساعة يبقى نطوف. نبدأ من الحجر الأسود يبقى نبدأ. نسعى بين الصفا والمروة أو نرجم يبقى نسعى ونرجم بدون نقاش. سيدنا عمر بن الخطاب كان بيكلم الحجر الأسود ويقول: أما والله لقد علمت أنك حجر لا تضر ولا تنفع ولولا أني رأيت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقبلك ما قبلتك. كان ممكن يقول للنبي: بقه بعد ماكسرت الأصنام جايبلنا صنم اسود وإن دى وثنية وتمجيد لحجارة زى ماكان بيحصل فى الجاهلية؟ لكن الفاروق ممتثل لأمر الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم اللى هو من أمر ربنا

الأمثلة كتيرة جدا بس المهم بقه إن ربنا مش عايزنا نلغى عقولنا. بالعكس ربنا بيخاطب عقولنا فى آيات كتيرة وأمرنا بالبحث وطلب العلم والتدبر والقياس المنطقى. فقط لو تعارض العقل والعلم مع أمر من أوامر الله يبقى تركنهم على جنب وتقول وانت مستسلم لله: سمعنا وأطعنا

Pilgrimage to Mecca

Al-Hajj الحج → pilgrimage to Mecca

Al-Manasik المناسك → rites / rituals

Al-Ihram الإحرام → the sacred state that entails:
1. wearing two white, unstitched pieces of cloth for men, and any loose-fitting clothing for women,
2. abstaining from cutting one’s hair or nails, wearing perfume, hunting or slaughtering, and engaging in a sexual activity.

Al-Miqat الميقات → the outer boundaries of the city of Mecca

Al-Tawaf الطواف → circumambulating the Kaaba 7 times beginning and ending at the Black Stone

Al-Sa'ai السعي → the ritual walking of 7 journeys between Al-Safa and Al-Marwah (men only jog between the two green posts)

Pilgrimage to Mecca is one of the five pillars of Islam, the obligations that all Muslims must fulfil. Every adult Muslim, male or female, who has the physical and financial means must perform pilgrimage at least once in his/her lifetime. In Mecca, Muslims from all over the world gather in a display of faith, unity and unquestioning obedience to Allah. Prophet Muhammad, the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him and his family, recreated what Prophet Ibrahim, his wife Hagar, and their son Ismail, the prayer and peace of Allah be upon them all, had done when they first settled in Mecca.

Crazy English

Lemonade means lemon juice and orangeade means orange juice but cannonade is not cannon juice.

Undo is the opposite of do and unfit is the opposite of fit. Is Uncle the opposite of cle?

There's no egg in an eggplant, no ham in a hamburger, neither apple nor pine in a pineapple, English muffins weren’t invented in England, nor do French fries come from France. Sweetmeats are candies but sweetbreads aren't sweet but meat. Quicksand works slowly, a boxing ring is square, and guinea pigs are neither pigs nor from Guinea.

Singers sing but fingers don’t fing. If the plural of tooth is teeth, goose geese and foot feet, why isn’t the plural of booth, beeth? You can make amends but why can't you make one amend? If you get rid of all your odds and ends save one, what do you call it?

If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? People recite at plays and play at recitals, ship by car and send cargo by ship, and have noses that run but not feet that smell.

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?

Your house can burn up as it burns down, you fill in a form by filling it out, and alarms go off when they go on. And when a car slows up, it slows down! When the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible. How can inflammable and flammable mean the same thing?

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all.

God is not dead

Eric Metaxas, an American author and radio host, tackled the 1966 Time magazine story, “Is God dead?” and demolished atheism. His argument goes as follows:

In 1966, TIME magazine ran a cover story asking, “IS GOD DEAD?” The cover reflected the fact that many people had accepted the cultural narrative that God is obsolete, that as science progresses, there is less need for a god to explain universe. It turns out though that the rumors of god’s death were premature. In fact perhaps the best arguments for his existence come from, of all places, science itself. Here is the story.

The same year TIME featured its now famous headline, the astronomer Carl Sagan announced that there were two necessary criteria for a planet to support life, the right kind of star and a planet the right distance from that star. Given the roughly octillion planets in the universe, there should have been about septillion planets capable of supporting life. With such spectacular odds, scientists were optimistic that the search for extraterrestrial intelligence known by its initials S.E.T.I. an ambitious project launched in 1960s would sure to turn up something soon. With the vast radio telescopic network, scientists listened for signals that resembled coded intelligence. But as the years passed the silence from the universe was deafening. As of 2014 researchers have discovered precisely nothing.

What happened?

As our knowledge of the universe increased, it became clear that there were in fact far more factors necessary for life, let alone intelligent life, than Sagan supposed. His two parameters grew to 10, then 20 and then 50 which meant that the number of potentially life supporting planets decreased accordingly. The number dropped to a few thousand planets and kept on plummeting. Even S.E.T.I. proponents acknowledged the problem. Peter Schenkel wrote in a 2006 piece for SKEPTICAL INQUIRER, a magazine that strongly affirms atheism “In light of the new findings and insights, we should quietly admit that the early estimates may no longer be tenable.” Today there are more than 200 known parameters necessary for a planet to support life, every single one of which must be perfectly met or the whole thing falls apart. For example, without a massive gravity-rich planet like Jupiter nearby to draw away asteroids, Earth would be more like an interstellar dartboard. Simply put, the odds against life in the universe are astonishing. Yet, here we are, not only existing, but talking about existing. What can account for it? Can every one of those parameters have been perfectly met by accident? At what point is it fair to admit that it is science itself that suggests that we cannot be the result of random forces? Doesn’t assuming that an intelligence created these perfect conditions in fact require far less faith than believing that a life-sustaining Earth just happened to beat the inconceivable odds? But wait, there is more.

The fine-tuning necessary for life to exist on a planet is nothing compared with the fine-tuning required for the universe to exist at all. For example, astrophysicists now know that the values of the four fundamental forces, gravity, the electromagnetic force and the strong and weak nuclear forces were determined less than one millionth of a second after the Big Bang. Alter any one of these four values ever so slightly and the universe as we know it could not exist. For instance, if the ratio between the strong nuclear force and the electromagnetic force had been off by the tiniest fraction of the tiniest inconceivable fraction, then no stars could have formed at all. Multiply that single parameter by all the other necessary conditions and the odds against the universe existing are so heart-stoppingly astronomical that the notion that it all just happened defies common sense. It would be like tossing a dice and having the same number ten quintillion times in a row. I don’t think so.

Fred Hoyle, the astronomer who coined the term Big Bang, said that his atheism was greatly shaken by these developments. One of the world’s most renowned theoretical physicists Paul Davies has said that the appearance of design is overwhelming. Even the late Christopher Hitches, one of atheism’s most aggressive proponents conceded that without question the fine-tuning argument was the most powerful argument of the other side. Oxford University Professor Dr John Lennox has said, “The more we get to know about our universe, the more the hypothesis that there is a Creator gains in credibility as the best explanation of why we are here.” The greatest miracle of all time is the universe. It is the miracle of all miracles, one that inescapably points to something or someone beyond itself.

Speed in nature

* The small hummingbirds can flap their wings 70 times per second.

* The Peregrine Falcon is a medium-sized falcon about the size of a large crow. It is the fastest bird on the planet in its hunting dive, in which it soars to a great height, then dives steeply at speeds up to 242 mph (390 km/h), making them the fastest creatures on earth.

* A woodpecker can peck 20 times a second.

* The protraction and retraction of the salamander’s tongue occurs within 20 milliseconds (twenty thousandths of a second).

* The African cheetah is the fastest of all land animals. It can reach speeds of 70 mph (112 km/h).

* The fastest marine organism is the sailfish, which is capable of reaching speeds of up to 68 mph (109 km/h).

* Bamboo is often considered the fastest growing plant, height wise. It has been reported that the larger bamboo species may grow up to one yard (91 cm) in height in one day. It is the giant panda's main food.

* Mercury moves the fastest of all planets in the Solar System orbiting the sun in 88 days while Jupiter is the fastest spinning planet taking 9 hours, 55 minutes to rotate on its axis.

* The fastest wind speed ever recorded comes from a hurricane gust. On April 10, 1996, Tropical Cyclone Olivia (a hurricane) passed by Barrow Island, Australia. The equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane at the time is 254 mph (408 km/h).

* The fastest in this universe is light, 186,282 miles per second (299,792 kilometers per second).

10 common misconceptions

1. Bluetooth is NOT named so because it simply looks like a … blue tooth. Not even close!
This technology was named after King Harald Bluetooth who united the dissonant Danish tribes into a single kingdom. Jim Kardach proposed this name because his system would connect mobile phones with computers as well as with each other, similar to what King Bluetooth had done in the tenth century. The logo  is a blend of Harald Bluetooth’s initials H (ᚼ) and B (ᛒ).

2. ‘Google’ is a misspelling of ‘Googol’ a number written as the digit one followed by a hundred zeros. Originally US mathematician Edward Kasner wanted to name this number and his nine-year-old nephew Milton Sirotta suggested ‘googol’. The name appealed to Kasner who used it in his book Mathematics and the Imagination in 1940. Then in 1997, Larry Page and Sergey Brin changed the name of their search engine from ‘Backrub’ to ‘Google’ to signify the large quantities of information this engine would provide.

 

3. Big Ben is NOT that world famous tower in London. This tower is called the ‘Clock Tower’, or officially ‘Elizabeth Tower’ since 2012. Big Ben is just the bell inside the tower, probably named after Sir Benjamin Hall, a British civil engineer and politician.

4. We believe that red enrages bulls and so matadors always have red capes. Bulls do not see red because cattle are dichromats. They charge at capes as they perceive a movement while matadors stand very still.

5. Another common misconception is that the Great Wall is the only man-made object visible from the moon. However, the wall is barely visible from low orbit (180,000 miles) under a specific set of weather and lighting conditions. The moon is roughly 237,000 miles.

6. It is widely believed that citrus fruits (oranges, tangerines, lemons, grapefruit) are rich in vitamin C. See how much vitamin C in 100 grams of each:
orange 53.2 mg
tangerine 26.7 mg
lemon 53 mg
grapefruit 33.3 mg
Do you know that 100 grams of guava contains 228.3 mg of vitamin C? This is more than the previous four combined.
Other foods are also rich in vitamin C such as chili (144 mg), parsley (133 mg), kale (120 mg) and golden kiwifruit (105.4 mg).
Next time you catch a cold, use real weapons.

7. Ostriches do NOT bury their heads in sand when they are scared. They simply swallow sand and pebbles to help grind up food in their stomachs. This means they have to bend down and briefly stick their heads in the earth to collect the pebbles.

8. Incense could be more harmful than cigarette smoke and might need to carry a health warning, just like tobacco. So there must be greater awareness and management of the health risks associated with burning incense in indoor environments.

9. Back in the 80s and 90s our history teachers used to boast that the pyramids are exclusive to Egypt. Check the Nubian pyramids in Sudan, Nsude pyramids in Nigeria, the Pyramids of Guimar in Spain, the Pyramid of Cestius in Italy, Mexico, China …

10. The word ‘Pepsi’ has been circulated as the acronym of ‘Pay Every Penny Save Israel’ which is not true. Pepsi is a derivative of pepsin, an enzyme in the stomach that breaks down protein. Look up ‘dyspepsia’: a pain caused by difficulty in digesting food. So the word ‘Pepsi’ connotes easy digestion.   

My apologies, my ladies

Dear ladies,
• 'woman' has 'man' in it.
• 'Mrs' has 'Mr' in it.
• 'female' has 'male' in it.
• 'she' has 'he' in it.
• 'Madam' has 'Adam' in it.
• 'lady' has 'lad' in it.
• 'princess' has 'prince' in it.
In short, they always contain us, not vice versa. Does it pay then?
Have you ever noticed that all women's problems start with MEN?
» MENdacity
» MENace
» MENtal illnesses
» MENstruation
» MENopause
Not all.. MANipulation
Ladies, forgive us.