The Miracle of Iron   
      
      
      
   Description: The Quran seems to imply that the iron was something "sent down"   
   and not from this earth, an idea not foreign to 20th century science.   
      
   Iron is one of the elements highlighted in the Quran. In the chapter known   
   Al-Hadeed, meaning Iron, we are informed:   
      
   "And We also sent down iron in which there lies great force and which has many   
   uses for mankind..." (Quran 57:25)   
      
   The word "anzalna," translated as "sent down" and used for iron in the verse,   
   could be thought of having a metaphorical meaning to explain that iron has   
   been given to benefit people. But, when we take into consideration the literal   
   meaning of the word,    
   which is, "being physically sent down from the sky, as this word usage had not   
   been employed in the Quran except literally, like the descending of the rain   
   or revelation, we realize that this verse implies a very significant   
   scientific miracle. Because,    
   modern astronomical findings have disclosed that the iron found in our world   
   has come from giant stars in outer space.[1]   
      
   Not only the iron on earth, but also the iron in the entire Solar System,   
   comes from outer space, since the temperature in the Sun is inadequate for the   
   formation of iron. The sun has a surface temperature of 6,000 degrees Celsius,   
   and a core temperature    
   of approximately 20 million degrees. Iron can only be produced in much larger   
   stars than the Sun, where the temperature reaches a few hundred million   
   degrees. When the amount of iron exceeds a certain level in a star, the star   
   can no longer accommodate    
   it, and it eventually explodes in what is called a "nova" or a "supernova."   
   These explosions make it possible for iron to be given off into space.[2]   
      
   One scientific source provides the following information on this subject:   
      
   "There is also evidence for older supernova events: Enhanced levels of iron-60   
   in deep-sea sediments have been interpreted as indications that a supernova   
   explosion occurred within 90 light-years of the sun about 5 million years ago.   
   Iron-60 is a    
   radioactive isotope of iron, formed in supernova explosions, which decays with   
   a half life of 1.5 million years. An enhanced presence of this isotope in a   
   geologic layer indicates the recent nucleosynthesis of elements nearby in   
   space and their    
   subsequent transport to the earth (perhaps as part of dust grains)."[3]   
      
   All this shows that iron did not form on the Earth, but was carried from   
   Supernovas, and was "sent down," as stated in the verse. It is clear that this   
   fact could not have been known in the 7th century, when the Quran was   
   revealed. Nevertheless, this    
   fact is related in the Quran, the Word of God, Who encompasses all things in   
   His infinite knowledge.   
      
   The fact that the verse specifically mentions iron is quite astounding,   
   considering that these discoveries were made at the end of the 20th century.   
   In his book Nature's Destiny, the well-known microbiologist Michael Denton   
   emphasizes the importance of    
   iron:   
      
   "Of all the metals there is none more essential to life than iron. It is the   
   accumulation of iron in the center of a star which triggers a supernova   
   explosion and the subsequent scattering of the vital atoms of life throughout   
   the cosmos. It was the    
   drawing by gravity of iron atoms to the center of the primeval earth that   
   generated the heat which caused the initial chemical differentiation of the   
   earth, the outgassing of the early atmosphere, and ultimately the formation of   
   the hydrosphere. It is    
   molten iron in the center of the earth which, acting like a gigantic dynamo,   
   generates the earth's magnetic field, which in turn creates the Van Allen   
   radiation belts that shield the earth's surface from destructive   
   high-energy-penetrating cosmic    
   radiation and preserve the crucial ozone layer from cosmic ray destruction...   
      
   "Without the iron atom, there would be no carbon-based life in the cosmos; no   
   supernovae, no heating of the primitive earth, no atmosphere or hydrosphere.   
   There would be no protective magnetic field, no Van Allen radiation belts, no   
   ozone layer, no metal    
   to make hemoglobin [in human blood], no metal to tame the reactivity of   
   oxygen, and no oxidative metabolism.   
      
   "The intriguing and intimate relationship between life and iron, between the   
   red color of blood and the dying of some distant star, not only indicates the   
   relevance of metals to biology but also the biocentricity of the cosmos..."[4]   
      
   This account clearly indicates the importance of the iron atom. The fact that   
   particular attention is drawn to iron in the Quran also emphasizes the   
   importance of the element.   
      
   Moreover, iron oxide particles were used in a cancer treatment in recent   
   months and positive developments were observed. A team led by Dr. Andreas   
   Jordan, at the world famous Charité Hospital in Germany, succeeded in   
   destroying cancer cells with this new    
   technique developed for the treatment of cancer--magnetic fluid hyperthermia   
   (high temperature magnetic liquid). As a result of this technique, first   
   performed on the 26-year-old Nikolaus H., no new cancer cells were observed in   
   the patient in the    
   following three months.   
      
   This method of treatment can be summarized as follows:   
      
   1. A liquid containing iron oxide particles is injected into the tumour by   
   means of a special syringe. These particles spread throughout the tumour   
   cells. This liquid consists of thousands of millions of particles, 1,000 times   
   smaller than the red blood    
   corpuscles, of iron oxide in 1 cm3 that can easily flow through all blood   
   vessels. [5]   
      
   2. The patient is then placed in a machine with a powerful magnetic field.   
      
   3. This magnetic field, applied externally, begins to set the iron particles   
   in the tumour in motion. During this time the temperature in the tumour   
   containing the iron oxide particles rises by up to 45 degrees.   
      
   4. In a few minutes the cancer cells, unable to protect themselves from the   
   heat, are either weakened or destroyed. The tumour may then be completely   
   eradicated with subsequent chemotherapy.[6]   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)