05TH JAMAADHUL AAKHIR 1419 - 27TH SEPTMBER 1998
IN THE NAME OF ALLAH AZZAWAJALL THE MOST BENEFICENT THE COMPASSIONATE.
ربّ اشرحلي صدري ويسّرلي أمري واحلل عُقدة مّن لُّلساني يفقهو قولي
الحمد لله ربّ العالَمين والعاقبة اللمتّقين والصّلوةُ والسّلام على رسولك سيّدنا محمّد
وأاله وأصحابه وأهل بيته وأهل طاعتك أجمعين - أمّا بعد
أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرّجيم
بسم الله الرّحمن الرّحيم
وَفِي الأرْضِ آيَاتٌ لِلْمُوقِنِينَ
51.20 On the earth are signs for those of assured Faith,
وَفِي أَنْفُسِكُمْ أَفَلا تُبْصِرُونَ
51.21 As also in your own selves: Will ye not then see?
وَفِي السَّمَاءِ رِزْقُكُمْ وَمَا تُوعَدُونَ
51.22 And in heaven is your Sustenance, as (also) that which ye are promised.
فَوَرَبِّ السَّمَاءِ وَالأرْضِ إِنَّهُ لَحَقٌّ مِثْلَ مَا أَنَّكُمْ تَنْطِقُونَ
51.23 Then, by the Lord of heaven and earth, this is the very Truth, as much as the fact that ye can speak intelligently to each other.
Al-Qur'an, 51.20-23 (Adh-Dhariyat [The Winnowing winds])
Allah Azzawajall uses the word مثل - meaning when you speak, speak intelligently, use Maxims - Adages, use Comparabilities and exemplifications - quote unprecedented novel examples. extract the root. - أنطق
The more intelligence is in your speech, the more the truth that will be expounded
The holy quran further states in : 55: 1 - 4
By the Most Compassionate. الرحمان
He taught the quran. علمل قرءان
He created man خلق الإنسان
He taught intelligent speech.علمه البيان
Intelligent Speech in short means learning acquisition of knowledge, which would make your speech intelligent and intelligible.
at the sametime, our Holy Prophet Muhummed [S] issues us a warning
قال رسولُ الله (ص):ءافةُالعلم النسيان
و ْإضاعته عن تحدث به غير ًٌَُاهله (الدارمى)
The Messenger of Allah Azzawajall said:
The calamity of learning, is forgetfulness the calamity of acquiring knowledge is forgetfulness and the destruction of knowledge, the ruination of knowledge, the waste of knowledge is your talk therewith with those not deserving of it. (Darimi)
إضاعته - - means : ruin, destroy, squandering, mislay: wasteful frivolity
I sincerely hope and pray that this sharing of knowledge will not go waste this knowledge will not be subject to ruination or destruction. Insha Allah.
In October 1984 The World was astounded to learn from Reuters International News Service that an almost complete skeleton of a twelve year old boy who lived 1.6 Million years ago had been found in Northern Kenya.
The bones discovered on the shores of Lake Jukarna consisted large pieces of human frame that added up to an almost complete skeleton. About the only bones that were missing were the Left arm and hand. The Right arm from the elbow down and most of both feet. studying the skull the scientists concluded (carbon-dating etc.) that the 12 year old lad had a functioning brain as we know it.
Upto the present time - this is the oldest dated skull found.
We will not touch upon the mind now - let us know something about the brain - which our Merciful Allah Azzawajall has created - and which we have taken for granted - without any show of gratitude and thanks to the Almighty Creator.
There about 14 verses in the Holy Quran asking us to travel through the earth, land and learn.......
أَفَلَمْ يَسِيرُوا فِي الأرْضِ فَتَكُونَ لَهُمْ قُلُوبٌ يَعْقِلُونَ بِهَا أَوْ آذَانٌ يَسْمَعُونَ بِهَا فَإِنَّهَا لا تَعْمَى الأبْصَارُ وَلَكِنْ تَعْمَى الْقُلُوبُ الَّتِي فِي الصُّدُورِ
22.46 Do they not travel through the land, so that their hearts (and minds) may thus learn wisdom and their ears may thus learn to hear? Truly it is not their eyes that are blind, but their hearts which are in their breasts.
قُلْ سِيرُوا فِي الأرْضِ فَانْظُرُوا كَيْفَ بَدَأَ الْخَلْقَ ثُمَّ اللَّهُ يُنْشِئُ النَّشْأَةَ الآخِرَةَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
29.20 Say: "Travel through the earth and see how Allah did originate creation; so will Allah produce a later creation: for Allah has power over all things.
أَوَلَمْ يَسِيرُوا فِي الأرْضِ فَيَنْظُرُوا كَيْفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ كَانُوا أَشَدَّ مِنْهُمْ قُوَّةً وَأَثَارُوا الأرْضَ وَعَمَرُوهَا أَكْثَرَ مِمَّا عَمَرُوهَا
30.9 Do they not travel through the earth, and see what was the end of those before them? They were superior to them in strength: they tilled the soil and populated it in greater numbers than these have done:
أَوَلَمْ يَسِيرُوا فِي الأرْضِ فَيَنْظُرُوا كَيْفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ وَكَانُوا أَشَدَّ مِنْهُمْ قُوَّةً وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيُعْجِزَهُ مِنْ شَيْءٍ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَلا فِي الأرْضِ إِنَّهُ كَانَ عَلِيمًا قَدِيرًا
35.44 Do they not travel through the earth, and see what was the End of those before them,- though they were superior to them in strength? Nor is Allah to be frustrated by anything whatever in the heavens or on earth: for He is All-Knowing. All-Powerful.
أَفَلَمْ يَسِيرُوا فِي الأرْضِ فَيَنْظُرُوا كَيْفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ
47.10 Do they not travel through the earth, and see what was the End of those before them?
When we are being instructed to travel through the earth and do research and find out the information of the origins of man, origins of creation - origins of other evidences - we sit back on our haunches and expect others to do it for us. Anyway Allah Azzawajall has been merciful in, providing us the information through other sources because Allah Azzawajall creates desires in other people to perform these functions so as to make known his power to his creations.
إِلا تَنْفِرُوا يُعَذِّبْكُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا وَيَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ وَلا تَضُرُّوهُ شَيْئًا وَاللَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
9.39 Unless ye go forth, He will punish you with a grievous penalty, and put others in your place; but Him ye would not harm in the least. For Allah hath power over all things.
وَإِنْ تَتَوَلَّوْا يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ ثُمَّ لا يَكُونُوا أَمْثَالَكُمْ
47.38 If ye turn back (from the Path), He will substitute in your stead another people; then they would not be like you!
And He has done it... let us now get into our subject....... The Brain
What are Brains actually like?
Inside our heads is a magnificent structure that controls our actions and somehow evokes an awareness of the world around.. yet, as Alan Turing once put it, it resembles nothing so much as a bowl of cold porridge. It is hard to see how an object of such unpromising appearance can achieve the miracles that we know it to be capable of. Closer examination, however, begins to reveal the brain as having a much more intricate structure and sophisticated organization:
* the large and convoluted - and most porridge like - portion on top is referred to as the "Cerebrum". Divided cleanly down the middle into Left and Right - Cerebral Hemispheres
And considerably less cleanly front and back into the Frontal Lobes and three Lobes:
the Parietal Lobes, Temporal Lobes, and Occipital Lobes.
* further down and at the rear lies a rather smaller somewhat spherical of the brain - perhaps resembling two balls of wool. This is called the "Cerebellum"
* deep inside and somewhat hidden under the Cerebrum, lie a number of curious and complicated- looking different structures: the Pons and Medulla which constitute the brain-stem - including the reticular formation - a region that will concern us later in our discussion -
* the Thalamus, Hypothalamus, Hippocampus, Corpus Callosum, and many other strange and oddly named constructions.
The part that you and I should be proudest of, is the Cerebrum.
for that is not only the largest part of the human brain, but is also larger, in its proportion of the brain as a whole in man than in other animals.
The Cerebellum - remember the two balls of wool at the back of the brain!!! - is also larger in man than in most other animals.
Now, the Cerebrum and Cerebellum have comparatively thin outer surface layers of "Grey Matter" which is referred
to as the "Cerebral Cortex" and larger inner regions of "White Matter" referred to as the
"Cerebellar Cortex". the surface layers of Grey Matter is where the various kinds of computational tasks appear to be performed, while the inner region of White Matter consisting of long nerve fibres carrying signals from one part of the brain to another.
Cerebral Cortex:
The various parts of the Cerebral Cortex are associated with very specific functions.
i. the Visual Cortex is a region within the Occipital Lobe, Right at the back of the brain, and is concerned with the reception and interpretation of vision. It is indeed curious that nature should choose this region to interpret signals from the eyes which at least in man, are situated Right at the front head!
But nature, natural laws of Allah Azzawajall's, behave in more curious ways than just this.
** another very important feature that you should note is :
1. it is the Right Cerebral Hemisphere which concerned almost exclusively with the - "Left-hand" side of the body
2. and the Left Cerebral Hemisphere is concerned with the Right-hand side of the body. so that, virtually, all nerves must cross over from one side to the other as they enter or leave the Cerebrum.
** another important aspect that you must know is that in the case
of the Visual Cortex (back of the brain) it is not that the Right side Visual Cortex is associated with the Left eye - but -
the Right side Visual Cortex is associated with the Left-hand field of vision of both eyes - similarly, the Left-side Visual Cortex is associated with the Right hand field of vision of both eyes.
This means that the nerves from the Right-hand side of the Retina of each eye must go to the Right Visual Cortex - that is why the image in the Retina is inverted - and the nerves from the Left-hand side of the Retina of each
eye must go to the Left Visual Cortex. (show diagram)
in this way a very well-defined map of the Left-hand visual field is formed on the Right Visual Cortex. and
another map of the Right-hand visual field is formed on the Left Visual Cortex
** another important aspect is the hearing:
here, signals from the ears also tend to cross over to the opposite side of the brain in this curious way.
the Right auditory Cortex - part of the Right temporal Lobe - deals mainly with sound received on the Left. And the
Left auditory Cortex - part of the Left temporal Lobe - deals, on the whole, with sounds from the Right.
** another important feature is the exception - always there is an exception of the rule - A small digression:
Everything has an exception and so it is with Allah Azzawajall. Allah created the earth and made Makkah and Holy Kaaba the most exceptional place on earth. Among the creations, mankind was exceptional LAQADH KHALAQNAL INSAANA FEE AHSANI THAQWEEM. Among mankind he made the Prophets the most exceptional among Mankind.
Among the Prophets He made Our Holy Prophet Muhummed (S) exceptional.
He created the days and made Friday the greatest of all days sayyidul ayyaam.
He created the nights and among all other nights, Lailathul Qadr, the night of honour, the night of destiny was made the exceptional night, so much so that the Holy Quran was revealed.
the sense of smell - this is an exception to the general rule -
the Right olfactory Cortex, situated at the front of the Cerebrum -in the Frontal Lobe - which is itself exceptional, for a sensory area deals largely with the Right nostril and the Left with the Left nostril.
** let us look at the sensations of touch -
this has to do with the region of the parietal Lobe referred to as the "Somatosensory Cortex".
This region occurs just behind the division between the Frontal and Parietal Lobes.
There is a very specific correspondence between the various parts of the surface of the body and the regions of the Somatosensory Cortex.
This correspondence is sometimes graphically illustrated in terms of what is referred to as the "Somatosensory Homonculus"- which is a distorted human figure pictured as lying along the Somatosensory Cortex:
* again the Right Somatosensory Cortex deals with sensations from the Left-hand side of the body and the
Left Somatosensory Cortex deals with sensations from the Right-hand side of the body.
So you know that the Somatosensory Cortex - are most immediately concerned with the sense of touch - for various parts of the body.
** there is corresponding region of the Frontal Lobe, lying just in front
of the division between the Frontal and Parietal Lobes.
This is known as the "Motor Cortex".
This is concerned with activating the movement of different parts of the body. And again
There is a very specific correspondence between the various muscles of the body and the regions of the Motor Cortex. so now, we have something graphically illustrated as the "Motor Homonculus" - which is also a distorted human figure
[The Motor Homunculus,
The motor homunculus, the diagram presented here, shows the left motor cortex divided into different-colored segments which control the corresponding colored parts of the right side of the body. The parts of the body of this person are drawn in proportion to the number of cells in the area of the motor cortex serving each part. Parts of the body which make very fine movements, such as the hands and fingers, are controlled by large areas of cortex, while parts like the trunk need only small areas. The right motor cortex controls the movements of the left side of the body in exactly the same way. ]
** the Right Motor Cortex controls the Left-hand side of the body and the Left Motor Cortex controls the Right-hand side of the body.
- directly activates movement - for various parts of the body.
the regions of the Cerebral Cortex just referred to:
the Visual, Olfactory (smell), Somatosensory (sense of touch), and Motor (directly activate movement) are called
"primary" - since they are the ones most directly concerned with the input and output of the brain.
Look at these Quranic verses:
إِذْ يَتَلَقَّى الْمُتَلَقِّيَانِ عَنِ الْيَمِينِ وَعَنِ الشِّمَالِ قَعِيدٌ
50.17 Behold, two (guardian angels) appointed to learn (his doings) learn (and noted them), one sitting on the right and one on the left.
ثُمَّ لآتِيَنَّهُمْ مِنْ بَيْنِ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِمْ وَعَنْ أَيْمَانِهِمْ وَعَنْ شَمَائِلِهِمْ وَلا تَجِدُ أَكْثَرَهُمْ شَاكِرِينَ
7.17 "Then will I assault them from before them and behind them, from their right and their left: Nor wilt thou find, in most of them, gratitude (for thy mercies)."
بَيْنِ أَيْدِيهِمْ : With him, in his possession, in his hands, under his control.
لا يَأْتِيهِ الْبَاطِلُ مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَلا مِنْ خَلْفِهِ تَنْزِيلٌ مِنْ حَكِيمٍ حَمِيدٍ
41.42 No falsehood can approach it from before or behind it: It is sent down by One Full of Wisdom, Worthy of all Praise.
يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ وَإِلَى اللَّهِ تُرْجَعُ الأمُورُ
22.76 He knows what is before them and what is behind them: and to Allah go back all questions (for decision).
يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ وَلا يَشْفَعُونَ إِلا لِمَنِ ارْتَضَى وَهُمْ مِنْ خَشْيَتِهِ مُشْفِقُونَ
21.28 He knows what is before them, and what is behind them, and they offer no intercession except for those who are acceptable, and they stand in awe and reverence of His (Glory).
يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ وَلا يُحِيطُونَ بِهِ عِلْمًا
20.110 He knows what (appears to His creatures as) before or after or behind them: but they shall not compass it with their knowledge.
لَهُ مُعَقِّبَاتٌ مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِ يَحْفَظُونَهُ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ وَإِذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ بِقَوْمٍ سُوءًا فَلا مَرَدَّ لَهُ وَمَا لَهُمْ مِنْ دُونِهِ مِنْ وَالٍ
13.11 For each (such person) there are (angels) in succession, before and behind him: They guard him by command of Allah. Verily never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it (their state of goodness) themselves (by committing sins and being ungrateful and disobedient to Allah). But when (once) Allah willeth a people's punishment, there can be no turning it back, nor will they find, besides Him, any to protect.
بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ - With him, in his possession, in his hands, under his control. the right and left, vision, hearing, the sense of touch, feeling, movement of every part of the body - are by the Grace and Mercy of Allah Azzawajall, subjugate them to the will and command of Allah Azzawajall - the limited freewill granted to man - to make use of these faculties - will
decide as to his fate - whether his actions are carefully thought of, whether he believed in Allah Azzawajall that all his actions will be subject to scrutiny and allowed it to be under the control of the angels whom Allah Azzawajall sent for his protection or
whether he decided that - by the limited free-will granted to him that he allows that all his faculties - be allowed to be controlled by the Shaithan.
اللَّهُ لا إِلَهَ إِلا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ لا تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلا نَوْمٌ لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الأرْضِ مَنْ ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِنْدَهُ إِلا بِإِذْنِهِ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ وَلا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلا بِمَا شَاءَ وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأرْضَ وَلا يَئُودُهُ حِفْظُهُمَا وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ
2.255 Allah! There is no god but He,-the Living, the Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep. His are all things in the heavens and on earth. Who is there can intercede in His presence except as He permitteth? He knoweth what (appeareth to His creatures as) before or after or behind them. Nor shall they compass aught of His knowledge except as He willeth. His Throne doth extend over the heavens and the earth, and He feeleth no fatigue in guarding and preserving them for He is the Most High, the Supreme (in glory).
(Also referred to as "Ayat-ul-Kursi")
Let us just look into Clinical Cases in point - upto the extent we have studied - with regard to the brain....
CASE NO.1.
If a patient has a Cerebral Tumour involving the left Parietal Lobe with advanced destruction of the Superior Parietal lobule.
Technically - this is the Somatosensory area - usually referred to as Somaesthetic Association Area - where the sensations of touch, pressure and proprioception are integrated: (proprioception - means: pertaining to, or made active by - stimuli arising from movement in the tissues - the sense of muscular position)
Here, the patient was tested for Stereognosis - that is whether the patient can appreciate three-dimensional forms.
That is by the touch of a solid - whether he could identify what he touched. with the patient's eyes closed.
A hairbrush was placed in his right hand and he was asked to recognize the object
he was unable to recognize the brush, even after the neurologist moved the brush about in the patient's hand.
Now the neurologist asked the patient to open his eyes -
The patient immediately recognized the hairbrush.
Case No.2.
Remember the Visual Cortex : the Right Side Visual Cortex is associated with the left-hand field of vision of both eyes -
similarly, the left-side visual cortex is associated with the right hand field of vision of both eyes.
Here, while examining an unconscious patient, a physician noted that when the patient's head was gently rotated to the right - the two eyes deviated to the left.
Now the physician rotated the patient's head - gently to the left -the patient's eyes still looked to the left.
The diagnosis was :
The frontal eye field of the left cerebral hemisphere had been subject to severe injury (destructive lesions).
This injury has caused the two eyes to deviate to the side of the lesion (injury) and an inability to turn the eyes to the opposite side.
This frontal eye field in the visual cortex - is thought to control voluntary scanning movements of the eye and is independent of visual stimuli.
Case No.3.
This is the case of a 53 year old professor and chairman of department of anatomy received a severe head injury while rock climbing. While climbing through a crevasse - a split in a glacier - his companion's ice - axe fell from his belt and struck the professor's head causing depressed fracture of the Frontal Bone.
There was severe injury to both the Frontal Lobes of the Cerebrum.
After convalescing from his accident - the professor returned to his position in the medical school.
The students and everybody in the faculty saw a dramatic change in the professor's social behaviour. His lectures although amusing, no longer had direction. He was previously a smartly dressed man - but now, he had an unkempt appearance.
One morning he was seen urinating into the waste-paper basket in one of the class rooms.
You see, the destruction of the Pre-Frontal Cortex does not cause any marked loss of intelligence - however, it causes the individual to lose initiative and drive and the patient no longer conforms to the accepted modes of social behaviour -
You can see the same behaviour by a drunken man - whose brain cells are affected by the intoxicants and drugs.
Next week, Insha Allah, we will see that near to these Primary Regions are the Secondary Regions of the Cerebral Cortex, which are concerned with a more subtle and complex level of theoretical and practical considerations...
These vision, hearing, sense of touch, feeling, movement of every part of the body when it is processed at the associated Secondary Regions - what happens... will brought to you at the next class.
May Allah in His Mercy guide us along the right path. Aameen.
وآخِرُ دَعْوَانَا اَن ِالْحَمْدُ لِلهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِيْن
السّلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته