The Ayah That Led Professor Arthur Alison To Islam

[Absolute truth 126]

 

Professor Arthur Alison is the head of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering in the University of London. For several years he had been the president of the British Society for Psychological and Spiritual Studies. In the course of his study of religions, he got acquainted with Islam.

 

When he compared Islam with the religions and creeds he had studied, he found it suited his inborn nature and satisfied his requirements.

 

He was invited to the First Islamic International Conference on the Medical Illimitability in the Quran held in Cairo in September 1985 under the auspices of the Egyptian Medical Syndicate.

 

In the conference he presented a paper on the psychological and spiritual methods of therapy in the light of the Holy Quran, in addition to another paper on sleep and death in the light of Verse 39:42 in the Quran which he presented in collaboration with Dr. Mohammed Yahya Sharafi. The facts presented were an eye opener to him.

 

At the concluding session of the Conference, attended by Sheikh Jad Al-Haq, the Egyptian Minister of Awqaf, Dr. Mohammed Ahmady and Dr. Mohammed Yahya Sharafi, Professor Alison declared that Islam is the religion of truth and inborn nature with which Allah has created man. Then he uttered the two testimonies, saying that he bears witness that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah.

 

In an interview given to the Arabic-weekly, Al-Muslimoon, he narrated the story of his conversion to Islam saying:

 

“In the course of my study of psychology and related subjects as the president of the British Society for Psychological and Spiritual Studies, I got acquainted with religions. I studied Hinduism, Buddhism and some other religions and creeds. When I studied Islam, I compared it to other religions.

 

During the conference on Medical Illimitability in the Quran, I could realize that the difference was great. Then I was convinced that Islam is the most proper religion that befits my inborn nature and conduct. In the heart of my heart I had felt that there is a God controlling the Universe. He is the Creator.

 

Therefore, when I studied Islam, I found that it did not conflict with reason and science. I believe that is the revealed religion from the one and only God. As I witnessed the truth, I uttered the two testimonies. The moment I uttered Shahadah, I was overwhelmed by a strange and ineffable feeling mingled with ease, comfort and satisfaction.”

 

He went on to say that the material world is now in a critical stage, what they say and see, does not explain the facts precisely. Here lies the responsibility of Muslims who could meet the wondering and perplexed humanity.

 

Prof. Abdullah Alison added that he, along with Dr. Mohammed Yahya, had presented in the conference on the Medical Illimitability in the Quran a paper focusing on the meaning of the Quranic verse:

 

{It is Allah Who takes away the souls at the time of their death, and those that die not during their sleep. He keeps those (souls) for which He has ordained death and sends the rest for a term appointed. Verily, in this are signs for a people who think deeply.} (Quran 39:42)

 

Through this verse, he said, they could prove that death and sleep are similar phenomena in which souls depart from the body. In the case of sleep, the soul returns to the body but in death it does not.

 

This verse reminds us that “taking the souls” means both sleep and death. This fact has been proved through parapsychological studies which are related to three main domains.

 

source

http://www.aboutislam.net/reading-Islam/my-journey-to-Islam/the-verse-that-led-professor-arthur-alison-to-Islam/

[ATereskov 5]

Hmm. This is pretty interesting. I haven't gotten to that chapter yet (I'm reading the Quran in English right now), but I'm probably going to try and take a peek ahead at this chapter tonight :) I'm interested to see the context around it. I've always felt that sleep and death are quite a similar phenomenon, but I'm no doctor so I can't say really. I'm going to look into this individuals works too. Can you recommend anything of his on the subject? 

So far, I've really enjoyed my time with the Quran. I've spent some time meditating on little verses like this when they strike me as particularly relevant. I especially like the tidbits that have been added like "Verily, in this are signs for people who think deeply." It's really helpful to have some hints as to where one should spend more time in contemplation vs. where one should either enjoy the story or lesson. 

Thanks for sharing! 

- Anna

[Absolute truth 126]

LIFE AFTER DEATH: Scientists reveal shock findings from groundbreaking study
Life may continue even after death - just in sleep mode

LONDON March 9:

 

Doctors have found scientific evidence that people's brains can continue to work after they are clinically dead.

A patient showed persistent brain activity for ten minutes after their heart stopped and experienced brain waves we normally get during deep sleep.

Canadian doctors studied the brain activity and heart beat of four patients in intensive care after they turned off their life support machines.

Brain inactivity preceded the heart stopping in three out of the four cases. However, in one of the cases, single delta wave bursts persisted after the heart had stopped and the patient was clinically dead.

We normally get these brain waves in a deep sleep. Researchers from the University of Western Ontario in Canada assessed electric impulses in the brain in relation to the beating of someone's heart after life-sustaining therapy was removed.

Brain inactivity preceded the heart stopping in three of the four cases. However, in one of the cases, the patient's brain continued to work after their heart stopped.

'In one patient, single delta wave bursts persisted following the cessation of both the cardiac rhythm and arterial blood pressure (ABP),' the researchers said.

There was significant differences in electrical activity in the brain between the 30-minute period before and the 5-minute period after the heart stopped.

'It is difficult to posit a physiological basis for this EEG [brain] activity given that it occurs after a prolonged loss of circulation', according to the paper which was published in the National Centre for Biotechnology Information.

Across the four patients recordings of their brain were very different - suggesting we all experience death in unique ways.

The experiment raises difficult questions about when someone is dead and therefore when it is medically and ethically correct to use them for organ donation.

As many as a fifth of people who survive cardiac arrests report having had an other-worldly experience while being 'clinically' dead.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4292814/Could-life-death-Brain-activity-continues.html