Abdullah Sameer

أَلَا يَعْلَمُ مَنْ خَلَقَ وَهُوَ اللَّطِيفُ الْخَبِيرُ Does He who created not know, while He is the Subtle, the Acquainted? (67:14)

The Atheist Quran (Parody)

Abdullah Sameer

This is great and would be considered the epitome of blasphemy by most Muslims (although the Quran challenges us to come up with something like it)   A lot of it is the exact same structure as the Quran with the words replaced to change the meaning. Its done in a very clever way but I wouldn’t call it linguistically impressive since its a parody. Also the recitation with the tajweed is pretty spot on. 

 

 

Bani Israel is the reason for meat rotting

Abdullah Sameer

Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet (S) said, “If it was not for the Israelites, meat would not decay. And if it was not for Eve, wives would never betray their husbands.” (Bukhari)

Hammam b. Munabbih said:
These are some of the ahadith which Abu Huraira (Allah be pleased with him) narrated to us from Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ), and one of these (this one): Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said: Had it not been for Bani Isra’il (the Israelites), food would not have become stale, and meat would not have gone bad; and had it not been for Eve, a woman would never have acted unfaithfully towards her husband. (Muslim)

And since we know that these Israelites lived less than 4,000 years ago, it means that the meat-spoiling organisms (like E. Coli, Salmonella, Clostridium perfringens, Staph. aureus, etc.) could not possibly have existed more than 4,000 years ago either?

Humans are nowhere near as special as we like to think (BBC Earth)

Abdullah Sameer

So apparently humans are not as unique as we thought. More and more evidence points to the fact that we are not as unique as we thought. “…and that all the differences are differences of degree, not of kind.”
This is so profound!

Humans are nowhre near as special as we like to think (BBC Earth)

Some interesting quotes:

  • The long-held view that chimps are selfish and mean is no longer acceptable, says de Waal. “People say that morality comes from God, from religion,” he says, but we can clearly see the roots of morality in many other species.
  • We once viewed ourselves as the only creatures with emotions, morality, and culture. But the more we investigate the animal kingdom, the more we discover that is simply not true. Many scientists are now convinced that all these traits, once considered the hallmarks of humanity, are also found in animals.
  • From the beginning of her time in Africa, Jane Goodall saw strikingly human-like behaviours. In her early research she referred to the chimpanzees as “he” and “she” rather than “it”. She also gave them names, something previously unheard of in academia, and began to describe their unique personalities.
  • Tool-use had been considered a uniquely human ability
  • Jane also discovered they ate meat: they were not vegetarians as had been assumed. And to get it they were using tools. She saw chimpanzees fishing for termites with twigs.
  • We also know that they are extremely good at reading each other’s facial expressions. So are monkeys.
  • Chimps’ social skills are the basis for another behaviour once thought to be uniquely human: morality.
  • A 2013 study found that they also know the value of cooperation. They will share food even if there is nothing obviously in it for them. The study found that they will split a reward equally, just as humans do. In one task chimpanzees shared bananas in the same way that humans share money.
  • Chimps also have some understanding of human minds. They can tell the difference between a person who is unwilling to give them food and a person who is unable to so.
  • Chimpanzees even have culture. They aren’t composing symphonies but culture can be defined as passing on knowledge, habits and transmission from one generation to the next.

Read more at BBC Earth

Funny relevant video: Capuchin monkey fairness experiment

Jesus in Islam, The Copy-Pasted Prophet

Abdullah Sameer

Jesus is a character that is out of place in Islam.  When you look at Christianity, the attributes of Jesus make sense in relation to their theology about him.  Jesus being born as a virgin and having no father fits well in the claim of Jesus being the son of God.  The titles of Jesus don’t make sense in Islam. The stories about Jesus we find in the Quran we have found sources for in ancient Syriac documents.

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The Evolution of Jesus in the Bible (Video)

Abdullah Sameer

This is a very well presented video on how a historic person becomes a legendary person. Compares the story of Jesus to the story of Hercules and the common argument of Liar, Lunatic, or Lord

Also talks about the early Bible and how we can see the evolution of Jesus from a man into a son of God. This video is presented in an easy to watch and fun format. You won’t be bored at all. 11mins

Evolution of Jesus

The Evolution of Jesus in the Bible

Excellent video.