Lessons from Honeybees

In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Peace be upon you,

Honeybees choose a new home by due consultation, and a process of consensus building that's quick and effective by God's design. How effective? They end up making the right choice some 90-95% of the time according to Professor Thomas Seeley.

The process honey bees use to choose their home reminds us of a variety of Quranic principles that God recommends for us in our lives and our decision-making. In Chapter 42 of the Quran (title: Consultation, or Al-Shoora in Arabic), God encourages the believers to decide their affairs by due consultation (Quran 42:38).

For this democratic process to work, we need to uphold the truth and be absolutely equitable when bearing witness (Quran 2:177, 5:8). Another helpful trait, is that scout bees (who are usually elder and more experienced) do not blindly follow what another honey bee is saying—they verify the information for themselves (Quran 17:36). Finally, we see that the bees are not fanatical or egotistical about their viewpoints. Once they have presented the hive and how good they think it is, they are open-minded and willing to accept other viewpoints and be part of forming a consensus with the rest of the hive, even if it is not the opinion they originally presented.

All of these fall into traits God recommends for humans, and important for a successful democracy:

• truthfulness (3:17)
• killing one’s ego (2:54)
• not insisting on our ways despite the proofs (98:1)
• seeking the truth rather than being wedded to one’s personal opinion (38:26)
• regarding one’s associates (4:36)

To conclude with a few verses from Quran on bees and consultation.

The Bee

[Quran 16:68-69] And your Lord inspired the bee: build homes in mountains and trees, and in (the hives) they build for you. Then eat from all the fruits, following the design of your Lord, precisely. From their bellies comes a drink of different colors, wherein there is healing for the people. This should be (sufficient) proof for people who reflect.*
*16:69 Besides its recognized nutritive value, honey has been scientifically proven as a healing medicine for certain allergies and other ailments.
   
[Quran 42:38] They respond to their Lord by observing the Contact Prayers (Salat). Their affairs are decided after due consultation among themselves, and from our provisions to them they give (to charity).

 

Related Articles

• God's Design of the Bee
• Characteristics of a successful human Society

Peace.

Homosexuality condemned

In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Peace be upon you,

God uses the story of the people of Lot to prohibit homosexuality in the Quran.

[Quran 7:80-81] Lot said to his people, "You commit such an abomination; no one in the world has done it before! "You practice sex with the men, instead of the women. Indeed, you are a transgressing people."

[Quran 26:165-166] "Do you have sex with the males, of all the people? "You forsake the wives that your Lord has created for you! Indeed, you are transgressing people."

In Lot's time, God annihilated the community for the multitude of sins they committed (29:28-35). The Quran does not lay out individual punishment for those who practice homosexuality, however people who choose to actively step out of God's kingdom--pay the price for taking Satan as their lord and protector.
For example, HIV is far more prevalent among male homosexuals http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/msm/index.htm
Also, homosexuals are 1.9 times more likely to have cancer http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42960543/ns/health-cancer/.

The act of homosexuality is condemned. However, God does not permit oppression or aggression against people for their peaceful choices.
http://www.masjidtucson.org/submission/perspectives/more/traits/homosexuality.html
http://www.masjidtucson.org/current/same_sex_marriages.html
http://www.masjidtucson.org/publications/books/womensrights/chapter8.pdf

Peace.

New discoveries on fungi–praise God for His infinite variety

 

In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Peace be upon you,

God's design of the heavens and the earth, and the huge number and varieties of species He placed on this planet are signs for people (Quran 16:8-13, 41:53). Shouldn’t natural selection have gotten rid of many of these species? Some are fragile and barely have a reason for hanging around, and others of course man took care of in his indiscriminate selfishness and lack of care of the planetary resources. But God Creates, and God chooses.

In further proof of how little we know, an entirely new branch of fungi (which may double the known kingdom) was recently discovered by British biologists. Praise be to God. How many more such creatures are out there? And how much more do we have yet to learn and discover by God’s leave?

[Quran 16:8] ... Additionally, He creates what you do not know.

Knowing God

[Quran 10:61] ... Not even an atom's weight is out of your Lord's control, be it in the heavens or the earth. Nor is there anything smaller than an atom, or larger, that is not recorded in a profound record.

[Quran 55:10] He created the earth for all creatures.

Article on Masjid Tucson about God's infinite Variety ( http://www.masjidtucson.org/publications/books/SP/1999/jan/page1.html )

On a related note, Submission-World is a website on God’s creations, the beauty and signs around us.

Peace.

Mathematical Miracle of Quran

The mathematical miracle of Quran is a powerful proof from God (Quran 74:30-35). Those who submit to God recognize this proof and their faith is strengthened (74:31). The proof based on the number 19 is present throughout the Quran, beginning at Chapter 1.

[Quran 74:30] Over it is nineteen.
...
[74:35] This is one of the great miracles.

The first chapter (sura) of the Quran is titled "The Key" (Al-Fatehah). It is short (7 verses), but contains strong mathematical signs. It is the chapter that Submitters (Muslims) recite in their Contact Prayers every day.

The Miracle of Miracles

Peace.

Heaven and Hell

A key understanding in Quran is that the absence of God is Hell (19:71-72). Heaven, by contrast, is defined by our closeness to God.

Everyone Sees Hell*

[Quran 19:71] Every single one of you must see it; this is an irrevocable decision of your Lord.
[Quran 19:72] Then we rescue the righteous, and leave the transgressors in it, humiliated.
*19:71 As detailed in Appendix 11, we will be resurrected prior to God's physical arrival to our universe. That will be a temporary taste of Hell, since the absence of God is Hell. When God comes (89:22), the righteous will be rescued. See 19:72.
[Quran 56:10-12] Then there is the elite of the elite. They are those who will be closest (to God). In the gardens of bliss.

A question people sometimes have is regarding the materialistic descriptions of Heaven and Hell in the Quran. The descriptions of Heaven and Hell throughout Quran are allegorical. And the Quran tells us so whenever such descriptions occur as independent statements, not within a general subject. See 2:24-26, 13:35, and 47:15. The word "Mathal" (allegory) is used in these verses. Linguistically, the word "Mathal" in these verses can be removed, and we still have perfect sentences. But it is there because the descriptions of Heaven and Hell are allegorical.
Thus, it is not about literally getting everything the hearts desire and the eyes wish for (Quran 43:71), but rather describing the extent of happiness and bliss in heaven.
The worldly analogies are the closest we can get to understanding how much joy and happiness await those who make it back to God’s Kingdom and Paradise. Because, in truth—we have no idea how wonderful it is (Quran 32:17).

Heaven: Indescribably Beautiful

[Quran 32:17] You have no idea how much joy and happiness are waiting for you as a reward for your (righteous) works.
More on the Day of Resurrection, and Heaven and Hell.

Submission (Islam) and Bin Laden's death

Capital Punishment, when is it justified?

Osama Bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaeda, was killed by U.S. forces in Pakistan. Bin Laden was best known as the mastermind behind the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks which killed close to 3,000 innocent people. Over his lifetime, he was likely responsible for the deaths of many others.

Terrorism has no place in Submission (Islam), and the Quran condemns the killing and oppression of innocents in the strongest language.

Grossness of Murder

[Quran 5:32] ... anyone who murders any person who had not committed murder or horrendous crimes, it shall be as if he murdered all the people. And anyone who spares a life it shall be as if he spared the lives of all the people. Our messengers went to them with clear proofs and revelations, but most of them, after all this, are still transgressing.

[Quran 17:33] You shall not kill any person―for GOD has made life sacred―except in the course of justice. If one is killed unjustly, then we give his heir authority to enforce justice. Thus, he shall not exceed the limits in avenging the murder, he will be helped.

The Major Commandments

[Quran 6:151] Say, "Come let me tell you what your Lord has really prohibited for you: You shall not set up idols besides Him. You shall honor your parents. You shall not kill your children from fear of poverty―we provide for you and for them. You shall not commit gross sins, obvious or hidden. You shall not kill―GOD has made life sacred―except in the course of justice. These are His commandments to you, that you may understand."

While the Quran generally discourages capital punishment (2:178), murder is one of the few instances in which capital punishment is permitted. The verse after 5:32, we see an explanation of when capital punishment may be permitted.

Capital Punishment: When is it Justified?

[Quran 5:33] The just retribution for those who fight GOD and His messenger, and commit horrendous crimes, is to be killed, or crucified, or to have their hands and feet cut off on alternate sides, or to be banished from the land. This is to humiliate them in this life, then they suffer a far worse retribution in the Hereafter.
For those who commit gross offenses, capital punishment in this case provides justice and sets an example to deter future murders. Of course, the punishment in Hell in the Hereafter is far worse, beyond what we can imagine.

The Quran makes it clear, there is no excuse for murder and taking the life of an innocent person. Submitters to God (Muslims), particularly loathe terrorism, and do not condone murder or oppression of any kind (Quran 2:217). Many righteous people, including God's messengers have been killed for their religious beliefs (Quran 2:87, 85:4-8). The Messiah, Jesus, is the most well-known example of a prophet of God being tortured and executed because of the message he preached. In the not too distant past, Rashad Khalifa, God's messenger of the Covenant, was martyred for his teachings in one of the earliest acts of so-called "Islamic terrorism" in the USA. The killers reportedly had ties to Al-Qaida.

While killing a murderer does not does not bring the victims back or undo the original crime, it is permitted by God under certain circumstances if the Law of Equivalence is upheld.

Discouraging Capital Punishment*

[Quran 2:178] O you who believe, equivalence is the law decreed for you when dealing with murder―the free for the free, the slave for the slave, the female for the female. If one is pardoned by the victim's kin, an appreciative response is in order, and an equitable compensation shall be paid. This is an alleviation from your Lord and mercy. Anyone who transgresses beyond this incurs a painful retribution.
[Quran 2:179] Equivalence is a life saving law for you, O you who possess intelligence, that you may be righteous.
*2:178 The Quran clearly discourages capital punishment. Every kind of excuse is provided to spare lives, including the life of the murderer. The victim's kin may find it better, under certain circumstances, to spare the life of the murderer in exchange for an equitable compensation. Also capital punishment is not applicable if, for example, a woman kills a man, or vice versa.
 
To conclude, while capital punishment is discouraged in Quran, in certain cases it serves justice. When an individual who fights God and His messenger, and commits horrendous crimes is involved, God tells us in Quran 5:33 that capital punishment is justified. To conclude, the operation to kill Bin Laden, is not against God's law in Quran, and it is in the cause of justice from a Submission-related (Islamic) perspective.