Al-Nasiyah (front of the head) (2/2)

The linguistic meaning of the Verse and the sayings of the commentators:

Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) says: “Let him beware! If he does not stop, We will take him by the nasiyah (front of the head), a lying, sinful nasiyah!” (Surah Al-Alaq, 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 that 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 function of the frontal lobe was known for the first time in 9718, 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 was 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.