Malfuzat – Volume II — Page 261
261 and bulletproof vests have been invented as well. In the same vein, if the underly- ing reality in 1 َـتَسَنَّه ي ْ لَم ( they have not rotted ) as stated in the Holy Quran is proven at some point in terms of science, why should this be surprising? The effects of air cause food to decay and air has a significant effect on humans as well. There are two kinds of air. There is one form of air which when inhaled, revitalises, and another form, is exhaled through breathing, which is a burnt and foetid sort of air. In short, if the phenomenon alluded to in the words َـتَسَنَّه ي ْ لَم ( they have not rotted ) was discovered, this would not harm us at all. In fact, the more and more that knowledge of the natural sciences spreads, the greatness and excellence of the Holy Quran will become all the more manifest. I observe every other day that soups and meats cooked abroad are brought to India and they do not spoil. Foreign medicines come here from thousands of miles and are kept for months, even years, but they do not expire. A certain indi- vidual told me that if an egg is preserved in mustard oil, it does not spoil. The ap- plication of similar effects upon a person’s youth and strengths could very well be a possibility. Certain Muslims have also made endeavours in holding their breath. In fact, a person even visited me and said that he only takes two breaths in one day. Practical evidence demonstrates that air has an effect in the process of decay. So if a human is isolated from such air and their life is prolonged, why should this be deemed an impossibility? What harm is there in accepting that lives can be prolonged in this way? It is a matter of principle that innovations are developed and invented because God has granted scope for them in the law of nature, or because the system of various elements found in the natural world can accommodate them. My belief is that the more the natural sciences progress and practically come to the fore, the more the greatness of the Holy Quran will become clear to the world. ” 2 17 August 1900 A Sermon of Maulana Abdul-Karim ra and Praise from His Holiness as His Holiness, the Promised Messiah as , praised the sermon that was delivered by Maulana Abdul-Karim Sahib ra on 17 August 1900. Maulana Sahib wrote out this sermon again with his own hand and said: “If only I could know whether these words that have sprung from my heart will be accepted. Yesterday, before the call 1 al-Baqarah, 2:260 2 Al-Hakam , vol. 4, no. 26, dated 16 July 1900, pp. 1-4