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2)
Al-Nasiyah (front of
the head) The holy Qur’an describes the front of the head being lying and
sinful. Allah (SWT) says: “a lying sinful nasiyah (front of the head).” (96: 16) Since the front of the
head does not speak, how can it be described as being lying? It does not commit
sins. How is it then said to be sinful? Professor Muhammad Yusuf Sukkar[33] dispelled my
perplexity[34] while he was talking
to me about the function of the brain. He said: “The function of the
portion of the brain that lies in the font of the human head is to control the
human behavior.” I said:
“I have found it.” He said:
“what have you found?” I said:
“The interpretation of
the saying of Allah (SWT): a lying sinful nasiyah.” He said:
“Let me consult my
books and references.” After having done so,
he, confirming what he had said, added: “When a person intends to tell a lie,
the decision is made in the frontal lobe of the brain, which is the front of
the head. If he wants to commit a sin, the decision is made there, too.” Then I discussed the
subject with a number of specialized scholars, among whom
was Keith L. Moore,[35] who stated that the
front of the head is responsible for judging and for directing human behavior.
The working organs of the body (e.g. the limbs) are but tools to carry out the
decision made in the front of the head. Therefore, the law in some states of
the The Anatomical structure of the upper region of the forehead shows that it consists of one of the bones of the skull, called the fronted bone, which protects one of the lobes of the brain called the frontal lobe, which contains several neural centers in various locations and with various functions.
Functional
regions of the left hemisphere of the cerebral cortex. The prefrontal
area is located at the front of the cerebral cortex. (Essentials of Anatomy
& Physiology, Seeley and others, p. 210.)
The prefrontal cortex
constitutes the bulk of the frontal lobe of the brain, and its function is
involved in the making of one’s personality. It is also considered as a
superior center among the centers of concentration, thinking and memory. It
plays a significant role in the person’s emotion and it is somehow concerned
with initiative and discrimination. The cortex is situated
directly behind the forehead; it is hidden deep in the front of the head. Thus
the prefrontal cortex directs some of the human behavior that reflects one’s
personality, with respect to being truthful, lying, right, wrong…etc. It also
distinguishes between these virtues and vices and urges one to take the
initiative whether with good or evil intent.[37] In a joint research on
the scientific miracle of nasiyah by Keith L.
Moore and me, presented in an international conference held in
Nasiyah is
the center of control and guidance in both man and animals that have brains.
His saying drew my
attention to the saying of Allah (SWT): “There is not a
moving animal but He has the grasp of its nasiyah.
Verily, my Lord is on a straight Path.” (XI:56) I also called to mind
some of the traditions of the Prophet (Peace be upon
him), such as: “O Allah! I am your servant and the son
of your servant and the son of your bondmaid, my nasiyah
(front of the head) is in Your Hands…”[39] and:
“I seek refuge with you from the evil of everything whose
nasiyah is in Your Grasp.”[40] and:
“Horses have goodness embedded in their nasiyahs,
till the Day of Resurrection.”[41] From the meanings of
these texts we can conclude that the nasiyah
is the center of control and guidance of both human and animal behavior. The linguistic meaning
of the Verse and the sayings of the commentators Allah (SWT) says: “Let him beware! If he does not stop, We
will take him by the nasiyah (front of the
head), a lying, sinful nasiyah!”
(96:15-16) Al-Nasiyah: the front of the
head. The commentators’
sayings: Most commentators have
interpreted this Verse metaphorically, saying that describing the nasiyah being lying and sinful is not to be taken
literally; the description is attributed to the owner of the nasiyah and not to the nasiyah
itself.[42] Other commentators
such as al-Hafiz ibn Kathir left the Verse without
comments. From the sayings of
the commentators (May Allah bestow His Mercy on them) we understand that they
did not know that the nasiyah is the center of
deciding to tell a lie or commit a sin; therefore, they interpreted the Verse
metaphorically, while the text literally describes the nasiyah
being lying and sinful. They attributed the description to the owner of the nasiyah although the grammatical structure of the
utterance does not permit that; otherwise, the structure would have been the
genitive construction that is completely different from the adjectival
construction. Other commentators did
not comment on the Verse sparing themselves the involvement in something beyond
their knowledge and the knowledge of their age. The Aspects of the
Scientific Miracle Professor Keith L.
Moore, illustrating this Scientific Miracle, says: “The information we now know
about the function of the brain, was not mentioned throughout history, nor do
we find anything about it in the medical books. Should we survey all the
medical literature during the time of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and several
centuries thereafter, we would find no mention of the function of the frontal
lobe (nasiyah), or an explanation of it or a
statement about it except in this Book (the Holy Qur’an),
which indicates that such information is of the Knowledge of Allah, the
Almighty, Who knows everything, and that Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger.”[43]
§
The function of the frontal lobe was known for
the first time in 1842, when a railway worker in
§
Doctors, up to then, had thought that this
portion of the human brain was a mute region with no function. Who, then,
informed Muhammad (Peace be upon him) that this portion of the brain (nasiyah) is the center of control and guidance in both
people and animals and that it is the source of telling lies and committing
sins?
§
Prominent commentators had to interpret the
explicit text metaphorically because they did not know this secret, in order to
safeguard the Qur’an from being accused of lying by
people who were ignorant of this fact throughout the past centuries. The fact
that the nasiyah is the center of control and
guidance in both men and animals is clearly mentioned in Allah’s Book and the Sunnah of his Messenger (Peace be upon him). Who, then, told
Muhammad (Peace be upon him) in particular, of this secret and this fact? It is the Divine Knowledge
that no falsehood can approach from before or behind it. It is a witness from
Allah that the Qur’an is from Him and was revealed
with His Knowledge.
[33] Professor Muhammad Yusuf Sukkar, the then Dean of
Higher Studies, the Faculty of Medicine, University of King ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, Jedda.
He authorizes a book in English on physiology that is used as a textbook in
foreign universities.
[34] This perplexity haunted me for
fifteen years.
[35] Keith L. Moore, a world–wide famous
physician, some of whose books are taught in Medicine Faculties in several
languages. He has a voluminous reference book on the brain anatomy. He
presented several papers on medical miracles at the international conferences
on the Scientific Miracles (in Qur’an and Sunnah).
[36] As an American brain Surgeon told we.
[37] Adapted from “Al-Nasiyah” issued by the Committee of Scientific Miracles.
[38] “The
Conference of Medical Miracles in Qur’an and Sunnah”held in
[39] Ahmad in al-Musnad 1/391 and 1/452; Ibn Hibban
in his Sahih 3/253; al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak 1/690. He said it is Sahih
according to the criterion set up by Muslim if it is free from the Irsal of ‘Abd al-Rahman Ibn Abdullah (i.e. Ibn Mas’ud) on the authority of his father, as there is a
disagreement about whether he heard it from his father; Ibn Abi Shaibah in al-Musannaf 6/40; al-Bazzar in his Musnad 5/363; Abu Ya’la in his Musnad 9/199; al-Tabarani in al-Mu’jam al-Kabir 10/169. In Majma’ al-Zawaid 10/136, he said:
Related by Ahmad, Abi Ya’la,
al-Bazzar except for the word “Ghammi”
for “Hammi”; and al-Tabarani.
The narrators cited by Ahmad and Abi Ya’la are the narrators of the Sahih
(authentic hadiths), excepting Abu Salama al-Jahani, whom Ibn Hibban regards as trustworthy. Al-Albani,
in the “authentic series”(al-Silsilah
al-Sahihah) no 198 regards it as Sahih
and thinks that ‘Abd al-Rahman
Ibn ‘Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud heard the hadith from his father, for that was confirmed by the
witness of a group of Imams.
[40] Sahih
Muslim, Book/ Glorifying (Allah), supplication, repentance and seeking
forgiveness, Section/ what is to be said on going to bed and lying; al-Tirmidhi, Book/ invocation, Section/ the invocation to be
said on going to bed; Abu Dawud in al-Adab, Section/ what is said on going to bed; Ahmad in his Musnad 2/381.
[41] Al-Bukhari,
Book/ al-Jihad and al-Siyyar, Section/ the saying
of the Prophet (Peace be upon him): “The booty has been rendered legal for
you”; Muslim in al-Imara, Section/ Good is
imbedded in the foreheads of horses till the Day of Resurrection; al-Nasai, Book/ horses; Ibn Majah,
Book/ al-Jihad, Section/ the use of horses in the Cause of Allah; al-Tirmidhi, Book/ the virtues of Jihad, Section/ what is said
about the virtue of tying a horse (to be used) in the Cause of Allah; Ibn Hibban in his Sahih 10/524); and
Ahmad in his Musnad.
[42] Fath al-Qadir, al-Shawkani al-Tabari, Ruh al-Ma’ani, al-Khazin.
[43] An extract from a paper he submitted
in the International Conference of the Scientific Miracles in Qur’an and Sunnah held in
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