| Nuance
and Interpretation:Here
‘Hamd’ does not imply thankfulness or praise,
each separately. It implies admiration and praise with thankfulness
and not merely one. Each aspect in ‘Hamd’ is integral
part of the Prayer. Praise without thankfulness is not ‘Hamd’
and thankfulness without praise is not possible in ‘Hamd’.
Whatever benefits we get, whether they are our seeking or
not, they are all bestowed by Allah Alone.
Starting with “Hamd” (All Thankful
Praise), Al-Faatihah draws attention pleasantly to the Real
Existence of the Ever All-Creator and His creation abounding
in the abundance of His Benevolence, immersed in His Mercy.
It is included in the meaning of Hamd that thankful praises
are for the real creation of Allah. Let us see how and why
the word `Hamd’ with its meaning, nuance and connotations
is specifically meant only for the sincerely thankful praises
for the Creator-Sustainer - The Truth. Consider some of the
facts given below:
i. All the
worlds-creations are there by design and not by accident (not
like the partial theory of the Big Bang that the `Singularity',
somehow, exploded as if accidentally).
ii. There is a purpose in the design
iii. There is perfect order and balance:
"No want of proportion will you see in the
creation of One (Allah),
Who created things within a specified pattern".
67- 3&4,
"And
the celestial bodies,
He (Allah) raised high and put them (in space
perfectly) balanced.
That you may not transgress the limits"
55-7 & 8.
(Translation, Abdul Wadud)
iv. There
is harmony in all creation, existence and working.
v. Harmony envisages that everything is performing
its assigned function in an orchestrated concert.
vi. Everything is playing its supportive role
in the system, as programmed.
vii. The Creation is not in Chaos. The Cosmos
is controlled and operated orderly.
"Had
been therein (in the heavens and the earth), gods besides
Allah,
then verily, both would have been ruined.
High Glorified is Allah,
the Lord-Master-Owner of The Throne of Majesty,
above all that they associate with Him!"
(21-22)
"No son did Allah beget, nor is there any
god along with Him, then each god would have taken away, what
he had created,
and some would have tried to overcome others!
Glorified is Allah, above all that they attribute
to Him!"(23-91).
"Say:If there had been other gods along with Him, as
they assert ,
then they would certainly have sought out a way
to The Lord of The Throne of Majesty." 17-42
viii. There
is stability and certainty which can be predicted. In scientific
terms. Predestination is not just a conjecture. Precisely
pre-calculated and orderly ‘Expansion of the Universe’
is the practical demonstration of this concept. Positions
of objects in the celestial world can be precisely predicted
in the frame of space and time.
"With power and skill, We (Allah) did construct the heaven
Verily, We are expanding it" 51-47
ix. Those who support the Big Bang Theory, say
that at that point of the process of creation through the
Big Explosion, matter and anti-matter annihilated each other.
It is just presumed without any basis or argument that somehow
order and balance came to be established in which matter survived.
It seems to be the extension of the same fictitious belief
that Ahura Mazda somehow overcame Angra Mainyu and right or
light prevailed over the wrong or darkness. Thus, further
development and formations of matter ensued. This is not the
theme of the Quran. Leading Astrophysicist Roger Penrose has
calculated the odds against the Big Bang producing stars and
galaxies as being 10 raised to the 30th power to 1! This means
the happening was not by chance but a very precisely, well
calculated and controlled process. According to the Testament
and the Quran the creation-origination was started in a planned
and orderly manner right from the beginning.
"Do not the unbelievers see that
the heavenly bodies and the earth
were joined together (as one unit of creation),
before We (Allah) clove them asunder?" 21-30.
The observed structure of the universe depends on the extremely
precise matching of the explosive power of the Big Bang to
the gravitating power. Had it been different by 1 in 10 raised
to the 60th power, the universe would not have been produced.
“Everything He (Allah)
created is precisely measured.” 54-49
Hossein Kowsari, (“Universal Laws of Science”,
Universalunity.net) explains the unalterable numerical values
(‘Laa tabdiila likalimaatillaah’): “There
are certain fundamental constants that play a fundamental
role in physics and have the same numerical values, everywhere
in the universe, at all times. It is not just that their alteration
would fundamentally alter the universe, but that only
these numbers, precisely fine tuned, are the only exact necessary
numbers for our universe to exist and for life to have evolved.
For example, an alteration in the strength of gravity by as
infinitesimal a number as 1 in 10 raised to the 40th power
would have caused all the stars to be either blue giants or
red dwarfs, with no possibility of sun-like stars, and consequently
no possibility of life as it exists today.” The universe
will be `wound up' similarly in an orderly manner, not finish
in just the so called `Big Crunch' :
“And (remember) the Day when We (Allah) shall roll up
the heaven
Like a scroll rolled up for books.
As We began the first creation, We shall repeat it.
A promise binding upon Us. Truly, We shall do it.” 21-104
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