Time
Zones
 See ing
as back
fourteen centuries
ago people
probably
did not
understand much
about
time
zones,
the Quran’s
statements
about
this
subject are
considerably
surprising. The
concept
that one
family is
having
breakfast
as the
sun
comes up
while
another
family
is enjoying
the brisk night
air is
truly
something
to be
marveled
at, even
in modern
time. Indeed,
fourteen centuries ago,
a man
could
not
travel
more
than
thirty miles
in one
day, and
thus
it took him literally
months
to travel
from India to Morocco, for
example. And probably,
when
he was
having supper
in Morocco, he
thought
to himself,
“Back
home
in India they are
having
supper
right now.” This
is because
he did not
realize
that, in
the process
of traveling,
he moved across
a time zone. Yet,
because
it is
the words
of Allah
(God), the
All-Knowing,
the Quran recognizes
and acknowledges
such
a phenomenon.
In an
interesting
verse
it states
that
when
history comes
to an
end
and
the Day
of Judgment
arrives,
it will
all occur
in an
instant;
and this
very instant
will catch
some people
in the
daytime
and
some
people
at night. This
clearly illustrates
Allah’s
divine
wisdom
and His
previous
knowledge
of the
existence
of time
zones,
even
though
such
a discovery was
non-existent back
fourteen
centuries
ago. Certainly,
this
phenomenon
is not
something
which
is obvious
to one’s
eyes
or a
result
of one’s
experience,
and
this
fact, in
itself,
suffices
as proof
of the
Quran’s authenticity.
Conclusion
Returning
one final
time to
the subject of good
guesses for
the purpose
of the present example,
the odds
that
someone
guessed correctly about
all three
of the aforementioned subjects -
the sex
of bees,
the movement
of the sun
and the
existence
of time
zones
- are
one in eight!
Certainly,
one
could
continue
on and
on with
this
example,
drawing
up longer
and
longer
list
of good
guesses;
and
of course,
the
odds
would
become
higher
and higher
with each increase
of subjects
about
which
one
could
guess. But
what
no one
can
deny
is the
following:
the odds
that
Muhammad
(peace be upon him), an
illiterate,
guessed
correctly about
thousands
and
thousands of
subjects,
never
once
making
a mistake,
are so
high
that
any theory
of his
authorship
of the Quran must
be completely
dismissed
- even
by the
most
hostile
enemies
of Islam!
Indeed,
the Quran expects
this
kind of
challenge. Undoubtedly,
if one
said
to someone
upon entering
a foreign
land,
“I know
your
father. I have
met him,”
probably the
man
from
that land would
doubt
the newcomer’s
word,
saying,
“You
have just
come
here. How
could
you
know my father?”
As a
result,
he would
question
him,
“Tell
me, is
my father
tall,
short,
dark,
fair?
What is he
like?”
Of course,
if the
visitor
continued
answering
all
of the
questions
correctly,
the skeptic would
have no
choice
but to
say,
“I guess
you
do know
my father. I don’t
know how
you
know him,
but I guess
you
do!”
The situation
is the
same
with
the Quran. It
states
that it
originates
from
the One
who created
everything. So everyone
has the
right
to say,
“Convince
me! If
the author
of this
book
really
originated
life
and everything
in the
heavens
and on
the earth,
then
He should
know about
this,
about
that,
and so
on.”
And inevitably,
after
researching
the Quran, everyone
will
discover
the same
truths. Additionally,
we all
know something
for sure:
we do
not all
have to
be experts
to
verify what
the Quran affirms. One’s
Iman (faith)
grows
as one
continues
to check
and confirm
the truths
contained
in the
Quran. And one
is supposed
to do
so all
of his
life.
May God
(Allah)
guide
everyone
close
to the
truth.
Addendum
1
An engineer
at the
University of
Toronto
who
was
interested
in psychology and
who
had read something
on it,
conducted
research
and
wrote
a thesis
on Efficiency
of Group
Discussions. The
purpose
of his
research
was
to find
out
how
much
people
accomplish
when
they
get together
to talk
in groups
of two,
three,
ten,
etc. The
graph
of his
findings
goes
up and
down
at places,
but
it reaches
the
highest
point
at the
variable
of two. The
findings:
people
accomplish most
when
they
talk
in groups
of two. Of
course,
this
discovery was
entirely
beyond
his
expectations,
but
it is
very
old
advice
given
in the
Quran (Surah
Saba
34:46):
“Say,
‘I exhort
you
to one
thing -
that you
stand
for
Allah, [assessing the
truth]
by twos
and singly,
and
then
reflect...’”
Addendum 2: ‘Iram
Additionally,
the
89th
chapter
of the
Quran (Surah
al-Fajr
89:7)
mentions
a certain
city by the
name
of ‘Iram
(a city of
pillars),
which
was
not
known
in ancient
history and
which
was
non-
existent
as far as
historians
were
concerned. However,
the
December
1978 edition
of National
Geographic
introduced
interesting
information
which
mentioned
that
in 1973,
the
city of
Elba
was excavated
in Syria. The
city was
discovered
to be
43 centuries
old,
but
that
is not
the
most
amazing
part. Researchers
found
in the
library of
Elba
a record
of all
of the
cities
with
which Elba
had
done
business. Believe
it or
not,
there
on the
list
was
the
name
of the
city of
‘Iram. The
people
of Elba
had
done
business
with
the
people
of ‘Iram!
In conclusion
I ask
you
to consider
with care
the
following
(Surah
29:50-51):
“And they
say,
‘Why
are
not
signs sent
down
to him
from
his Lord?’ Say,
‘Indeed,
the signs
are
with Allah,
and
I am
but
a clear
warner.’ But
it is
sufficient
for
them
that We
have
sent
down
to you
the
Book [i.e.,
Quran] which
is rehearsed to them?
Verily, in
that
is mercy
and a reminder
to people
who believe.”
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