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The holy Qur’an describes the
front of the head being lying and sinful. Allah (SWT) says:
(a lying sinful nasiyah (front
of the head).) (96: 16)
Since the front of
the head does not speak, how can it be described as being
lying? It does not commit sins. How is it then said to be
sinful?
Professor Muhammad
Yusuf Sukkar dispelled my perplexity while he was talking to
me about the function of the brain.
He said:
“The function of the portion of the brain that lies in the
font of the human head is to control the human behavior.”
I said: “I
have found it.”
He said:
“what have you found?”
I said:
“The interpretation of the saying of Allah
(SWT): a lying sinful nasiyah.”
He said:
“Let me consult my books and references.”
After having done
so, he, confirming what he had said, added: “When a person
intends to tell a lie, the decision is made in the frontal
lobe of the brain, which is the front of the head. If he wants
to commit a sin, the decision is made there, too.”
Then I discussed
the subject with a number of specialized scholars, among whom
was Keith L. Moore, who stated that the front of the head is
responsible for judging and for directing human behavior. The
working organs of the body (e.g. the limbs) are but tools to
carry out the decision made in the front of the head.
Therefore, the law in some states of the USA punishes major
criminals that exhaust the police, by excising the front part
of the brain (nasiyah), (for it is the center of
control and guidance) whereupon the criminal becomes as mild
as a child obeying the orders of anyone.
The Anatomical
structure of the upper region of the forehead shows that it
consists of one of the bones of the skull, called the fronted
bone, which protects one of the lobes of the brain called the
frontal lobe, which contains several neural centers in various
locations and with various functions.
The prefrontal
cortex constitutes the bulk of the frontal lobe of the brain,
and its function is involved in the making of one’s
personality. It is also considered as a superior center among
the centers of concentration, thinking and memory. It plays a
significant role in the person’s emotion and it is somehow
concerned with initiative and discrimination.
The cortex is
situated directly behind the forehead; it is hidden deep in
the front of the head. Thus the prefrontal cortex directs some
of the human behavior that reflects one’s personality, with
respect to being truthful, lying, right, wrong…etc. It also
distinguishes between these virtues and vices and urges one to
take the initiative whether with good or evil intent.
In a joint
research on the scientific miracle of nasiyah by Keith
L. Moore and me, presented in an international conference held
in Cairo in 1980, Keith L. Moore did not talk about the
function of the frontal lobe of the human brain only, but
talked about the function of the nasiyah in the brains
of various animals. Demonstrating pictures of the fronted
lobes of a number of animals, he said: “The comparative
anatomical study of human and animal brains shows that the
nasiyah has the same function: It is the center of the
control and guidance in both man and animals that have brains.
His saying drew my
attention to the saying of Allah (SWT):
(There is not a moving animal but He
has the grasp of its nasiyah. Verily, my Lord is on a
straight Path.) (XI:56)
I also called to
mind some of the traditions of the Prophet (Peace be upon
him), such as: “O Allah! I am your servant and the son of your
servant and the son of your bondmaid, my nasiyah (front
of the head) is in Your Hands…” and: “
I seek refuge with you
from the evil of everything whose nasiyah is in Your
Grasp.” and: “Horses have goodness embedded in their
nasiyahs, till the Day of Resurrection.”
From the meanings
of these texts we can conclude that the nasiyah is the
center of control and guidance of both human and animal
behavior.
The
linguistic meaning of the Verse and the sayings of the
commentators
Allah (SWT) says:
(Let him beware! If he does not stop,
We will take him by the nasiyah (front of the head), a
lying, sinful nasiyah!) (96:15-16)
Al-Nasiyah:
the front of the head.
The commentators’
sayings:
Most commentators
have interpreted this Verse metaphorically, saying that
describing the nasiyah being lying and sinful is not to
be taken literally; the description is attributed to the owner
of the nasiyah and not to the nasiyah itself.
Other commentators such as Al-Hafiz ibn Kathir left the Verse
without comments.
From the sayings
of the commentators (May Allah bestow His Mercy on them) we
understand that they did not know that the nasiyah is
the center of deciding to tell a lie or commit a sin;
therefore, they interpreted the Verse metaphorically, while
the text literally describes the nasiyah being lying
and sinful. They attributed the description to the owner of
the nasiyah although the grammatical structure of the
utterance does not permit that; otherwise, the structure would
have been the genitive construction which is completely
different from the adjectival construction.
Other commentators
did not comment on the Verse sparing themselves the
involvement in something beyond their knowledge and the
knowledge of their age.
The Aspects
of the Scientific Miracle
Professor Keith L.
Moore, illustrating this Scientific Miracle, says: “The
information we now know about the function of the brain, was
not mentioned throughout history, nor do we find anything
about it in the medical books. Should we survey all the
medical literature during the time of the Prophet (Peace be
upon him) and several centuries thereafter, we would find no
mention of the function of the frontal lobe (nasiyah),
or an explanation of it or a statement about it except in this
Book (the Holy Qur’an), which indicates that such information
is of the Knowledge of Allah, the Almighty, Who knows
everything, and that Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger.
The first time the
function of the frontal lobe was known was in 1842, when a
railway worker in America was hit with a bar that pierced his
forehead. That affected his behavior leaving the other
functions of his body intact. Only then doctors came to know
the function of the frontal lobe of the brain and its bearing
on human behavior.
Doctors, up to
then, had thought that this portion of the human brain is a
mute region with no function. Who, then, informed Muhammad
(Peace be upon him) that this portion of the brain
(nasiyah) is the center of control and guidance in both
people and animals and that it is the source of telling lies
and committing sins?
Prominent
commentators had to interpret the explicit text metaphorically
because they did not know this secret, in order to safeguard
the Qur’an from being accused of lying by people who were
ignorant of this fact throughout the past centuries. The fact
that the nasiyah is the center of control and guidance
in both men and animals is clearly mentioned in Allah’s Book
and the Sunnah of his Messenger (Peace be upon him).
Who, then, told
Muhammad (Peace be upon him) in particular, of this secret and
this fact?
It is the Divine
Knowledge that no falsehood can approach from before or behind
it. It is a witness from Allah that the Qur’an is from Him and
was revealed with His Knowledge.
Reference : "ILM AL IMAN" by ABD ALMAJEED
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