Badges mark quoted or attributed material (Qur'an, hadith, another author, an opposing view). Unbadged passages are Maulana Wahiduddin Khan's own words.
THE UNIVERSE: A MIRROR p. 198
The universe is a mirror in which the Face of the Creator is visible. In this sense, everything in the universe is a sign of God. If a person can see, he will find meaningfulness in everything. With all its vast expansiveness, the present universe will become, for him, an excellent treasury for the realization of God. p. 198
Mathematical Universe p. 198
The universe appears to be mathematical. It is mathematically ordered. This aspect of the universe is prominently visible in every part and portion. An example of this is the two-way movement of the Earth, that is, the rotation around its axis and the revolution around the sun, that occurs with such precision that one can draw up a calendar that goes back thousands of years into the past or years into the future. The same is the case with all other components of the physical universe. Every part of the physical universe functions under such clear, firm, and definite principles that one can accurately predict its future. This aspect of the physical universe greatly impresses scientists so much that they are sure it is a mathematical model. As long as they have not understood a particular thing at the mathematical level, they assume they have not yet understood it. p. 199
Scientists study the world of Nature. Even though science has many departments and different scientists conduct their research and study separately, if one were to give a standard label to their work, it could be ‘Searching for mathematical order in the universe.’ p. 199
It is the shared conviction of all scientists that there is a mathematically precise order and arrangement in the universe. A scientist becomes completely satisfied with his research findings only when he can express his research mathematically. For scientists, mathematical verification is the ultimate evidence of a theory. p. 199
Scientists use mathematics to study the universe, and goldsmiths use touchstones to distinguish between genuine and fake gold. A goldsmith regards a bit of metal as gold only if verified through a touchstone. In the same way, a scientist accepts a theory to be valid only if it is verified to be so by mathematics. p. 199
Why is there this compatibility between the system of mathematics and the system of the universe? Some scientists have raised this question. Some, without directly answering the question, have shaped their answer into an additional question—“Did a mathematical Mind create the universe?” p. 200
Some scientists have provided a positive answer to this question. In 1932, British physicist Sir James Jeans rightly remarked, “The universe appears to have been designed by a pure mathematician.” p. 200other source
This point, made by Sir James Jeans in 1932, has been acknowledged by numerous other scientists. The fact is that for the universe to have been created on mathematical principles and to be in a state of constant motion with mathematical accuracy is clear evidence that behind the universe, a mind with an awareness of mathematical laws is at work. This scientific study reveals that the universe has been organized with high precision and that no satisfactory explanation is possible without accepting a Mathematical Mind behind it. And that could only have been the Creator God. p. 200original + quote
Balance of Nature p. 200
The massive amount of ice in Antarctica is said to comprise 85% of the fresh water on Earth. If this ice were to melt, the height of the seas of the world would rise by around 60-70 meters, and about a tenth of the land would come under water. As a result, all coastal cities would sink, as would several countries. The average temperature of the seas would decrease by around two degrees, resulting in climate disaster on Earth because it would affect the temperature of the whole planet. p. 200
These facts are an example from which one can gauge how balanced the system in place on Earth is. Here, a balance is maintained between numerous simultaneous requirements so that everything necessary for human life provides its benefits and man is protected from harm. p. 201
The balance of Nature is prominently visible in every aspect of the Earth. This tells us that a Mind is active behind this universe. Without such a mind, this balance could never have been maintained over millions of years. p. 201
Studying the Earth, it becomes evident that the One behind this universe has made the present conditions on the planet in a particular way. He planned to have living beings—humans, animals, plants—here, so everything was crafted precisely according to their needs. If this phenomenon does not convince a person of the existence of God, then what can? p. 201
Miracle of the Neem Tree p. 201
The second International Neem Conference took place in Western Germany in December 1983. Recently, the Neem tree has attracted considerable attention among plant scientists. This is because Neem is a natural repellent against harmful insects. Man has invented several chemical-based insecticides, but all of them, in addition to repelling insects, also harm the environment and, in this way, have become very harmful to humanity. But that is not the case with Neem. Without causing any environmental damage, it can protect human beings and plants from harmful insects. Neem is said to have a unique defence system that works to control insects. It can reduce the number of harmful insects, thus resulting in a spectacular increase in crop outputs. p. 201
In modern times, the use of chemical-based insecticides has become widespread. This may have helped augment agricultural yields, but it has had very harmful consequences for the environment and the health of human beings and other species. When particles from these chemical products enter the atmosphere, man ingests them through breathing; he falls prey to various illnesses. Till now, man has not been able to discover a method to prevent the harmful effects of using these products. p. 202
The widespread use of chemical-based insecticides is causing a severe decline in people’s health, resulting in sickness and even, in extreme cases, death. Despite all its apparent advances, man’s science has not yet reached the level manifested in the form of the miracle of Nature called the Neem tree. p. 202
The Neem tree is living proof of God’s existence. Only the Supreme Mind could have designed the Neem Tree, which functions as a natural insect-repellent without causing any damage to the environment and the health of human beings and other species. But despite this, many people assume or argue that there is no Creator and Sustainer of the universe and that there is no Mind that is running it. p. 202original + quote
Seeing a bottle of factory-manufactured chemical insecticide, no one would say that it came into being on its own or that ‘Nature’ produced it. Every sensible person will know that it was made in a man-made factory. But when they see a much better sort of insecticide in the form of the Neem tree, people who deny the Creator say that it came into existence on its own or that ‘Nature’ produced it! p. 202
The Neem tree is undoubtedly more excellent than any artificial insecticide. Extraordinary intelligence is very clearly present in its very structure. How strange are those who accept a factory-made insecticide as a product of intelligence but do not accept the same for the Neem tree? p. 203
Intelligence in the creation p. 203
Once, I read an article about honeybees. In it, among other things, it mentioned that some 550 busy bees must collect the nectar of as many as 2.5 million flowers to make just one pound of honey. p. 203
There are innumerable signs inside the humble honeybee. The above point is just one among them. If man reflects on these signs, he can be overwhelmed with the awareness of the greatness of God. p. 203
What does the honeybee do? It sucks the nectar of flowers and, through a process, prepares honey. But that is not the only work it does. Along with this, it performs several other essential tasks. One of these is the pollination of plants, or the transfer of pollen from one plant to another. The bees carry the pollen grains from one flower to other flowers so they can fertilize the cells of the new plants. In this way, bees help in fertilizing plants through the process of pollination. This task is so vital that it can be said that giving nectar to the bees is the fee plants pay for the fertilizing service of honeybees. p. 203
Research reveals that when the honeybee is sucking the nectar of a flower in a garden, it does not suck the nectar of all sorts of flowers simultaneously. Instead, it repeatedly sips the nectar of just one kind of flower. At one time, it flies amidst flowers of the same species and sucks the nectar only from these flowers, one after another. p. 204
This practice of the honeybee is very significant for agriculture. Because of this, the pollen grains from a particular sort of flower keep being transferred to other flowers in plants or trees of the same species. While sucking nectar from a flower, pollen grains of the flower get stuck on the body of the honeybees. When it travels to another flower of the same sort and sits on it, some of these grains fall inside it. In this way, the process of fertilization occurs. Had this not happened, around 100,000 plants might have been wiped off the face of the Earth. p. 204
This is unmistakable evidence of intelligent design present in the creation system. This sort of meaningful phenomenon definitely and necessarily proves that there is indeed a Creator of this world. Without a Creator, such meaningfulness, order, and design in the creation system would be impossible. p. 204
Lesson From a Black Box p. 204
According to the rules for aircraft, it is compulsory to have a black box for a plane that weighs more than 12,000 pounds. A black box consists of two unique sorts of recorders, one of which is called a ‘flight recorder’ and the other a ‘voice recorder.’ These recorders are placed in the tail of a plane so that they might remain safe in the event of an accident. They continuously record the pilot’s voice, the craft’s speed, and other necessary information. In case an accident occurs, vital information related to the plane’s last moments can be recovered from its black box. p. 204
Several years ago, a big plane was flying over the Atlantic Ocean. Ground control was taking a report from the aircraft at every moment. But suddenly, the plane’s image vanished from their computer screen. Messages of the aircraft stopped coming in. The plane had an accident and crashed into the sea. More than 300 people were on board, and all of them died. None of them survived to relate the details of that accident to the world. p. 205
The only way to know about the accident was the plane’s black box that had sunk in the vast Atlantic Ocean at a depth of two miles. The plane’s black box was smaller than a speck in the ocean. On the face of it, extricating that ‘speck’ from the sea was impossible. But this ‘impossible’ became possible, and the black box was recovered. p. 205
How did this extraordinary miracle happen? It happened through a remote-controlled robot. A black box contains machines through which it keeps sending out radio signals. These signals are emitted from it every second and continue for several days. Ships from France, the USA, and the UK, equipped with modern equipment, located these signals, indicating where they were coming from. After this, photographs were taken through a special camera. Then, a robot was sent into the depths of the ocean. It had arms, hands, and fingers like a human being. These robots are controlled through radio waves, so humans can watch the scene on a mechanical screen while sitting in ships above the sea. They can guide the robot through radio waves to reach the exact location, pick up the black box in its ‘hands,’ and then come up and hand it over to them. p. 205
This was the method using which a tiny ‘speck’ was taken out from the depths of the ocean, after which it narrated, as it were, the entire story of the accident to the world. p. 206
When I read these details in the media, I felt as if in the form of this event, a demonstration of that most momentous event was being made that is narrated in these words in the Quran: p. 206original + quote
“Not the smallest particle on the earth or in heaven is hidden from your Lord, and there is nothing smaller or bigger but is recorded in a clear Book.” (10:61) p. 206Qur'an