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  1. Home
  2. Critical Examination of Islam
  3. What is the nature of God?
  4. I am having chronic depression now after reading books on Astrophysics!

I am having chronic depression now after reading books on Astrophysics!

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved What is the nature of God?
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  • R Offline
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    rambutan
    wrote on last edited by
    #1

    Over the last few weeks, I devoted some time to read books and browse websites related to astrophysics (universe, stars, planets, cosmos etc etc) and I couldn't sleep well of late. My wife noticed a change in my character as my mind seems to be wandering and i also felt like experiencing social withdrawal or something like that. I feel mentally and psychologically troubled by the fact that Earth is like a grain of sand on all beaches in the world. Pictures of galaxies showing billions and billions of galaxies, each with billions of stars really really affected me mentally, psychologically and spiritually. I feel like I am being grip by the fear of sliding into a state of nothingness or something when I die, knowing that the planet I live on is just like a speck of dust. I am sure modern medicine will classify me as having a mental illness if I subject my mind to their examination. I wonder how most people manage this fear.

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      Tareq
      wrote on last edited by
      #2

      Don't worry about how modern medicine would classiy you. . You read about astrophysics and it made you ponder. That's a good thing. You're a thinker.The best Thinkers are always described as having a mental illness by the established science of their time. Ponder some more and you will find comfort the same way you found fear. I actually feel comforted by the fact that Earth is like a grain of sand on all beaches in the world. with everythaing that's happening on this grain of sand, imagine how much more is happening on all beaches in the world. I feel that even if we just drift off, we're bound to drift into something.

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        san
        wrote on last edited by
        #3

        Salaam, rambutan, welcome

        I've been in a state of social withdrawal for quite long myself. Still i can't say i fully understand what you are experiencing now. God knows best. The feeling of nothingness or emptiness is also the worst thing i know--when i was little i found it quite disturbing. I brought that sense of nothingness for many years afterward, and only recently did i realize of what will fill me when anything else can't. And that it is certain that i will be fulfilled. I am nothing. The One who fills me in, however, is Everything. I wouldn't be anything at all if it weren't for His mercy to give me a chance to live.

        Incidentally, i just came across this passage from the Reading last night, then i re-read it again after reading your post. There are dialogues between the people of the Paradise and the people of the Fire underneath, and then with the people of the Heights/the Elevated platform (Al A`raaf). The end of the passage presented here might have been very familiar to you. I hope you will find it interesting and relieving

        ...

        740 Those who have denied Our revelations, and became arrogant towards them,
        the gates of the heavens will not open for them, nor will they enter the Paradise
        until the camel passes through the eye of a needle.
        It is such that We recompense the criminals.

        741 They will have Hell as an abode, and from above them will be barriers.
        It is thus We recompense the wicked.

        742 As for those who believe and do good --
        We do not burden a soul except with what it can bear --
        those are the dwellers of the Paradise, in it they will abide.

        743 And We removed what was in their chests of hate;
        rivers will flow beneath them; and they will say
        'Praise be to God who has guided us to this,
        and we would not have been guided unless God guided us.
        The messengers of our Lord had come with the truth.'
        And it was called to them
        'This is the Paradise; you have inherited it for what you have done.'

        744 And the dwellers of the Paradise called the dwellers of the Fire
        'We have found what our Lord promised us to be true; did you find what your Lord promised to be true?'
        They said
        'Indeed!'
        Then a caller announced between them
        'The curse of God is on the wicked.'

        745 The ones who repel from the path of God, and sought to make it crooked;
        and regarding the Hereafter they were rejecters.

        746 And between them is a barrier,
        and on the Elevated platform are men who recognized others by their features.
        And they called out to the dwellers of the Paradise
        'Peace be upon you!'
        They have not yet entered it, but they are hoping.

        747 And when their eyes are turned towards the dwellers of the Fire, they say
        'Our Lord, do not place us with the wicked people!'

        748 And the people standing on the elevated platform called on men they recognized by their features,
        they said
        'What good did your large number do for you, or what you were arrogant for?'

        749 Were these not the ones whom you swore God would not grant them of His mercy?
        'Enter the Paradise, there is no fear for you nor will you grieve.'

        750 And the dwellers of the Fire called on the dwellers of the Paradise
        'Give us some water, or what God has provided for you?'
        They said
        'God has made it forbidden for the rejecters.'

        751 The ones who took their system for distraction and play, and were preoccupied with this worldly life.
        Today We forget them as they forgot their meeting on this Day, and they did not heed Our revelations.

        752 And We have come to them with a Book which We have detailed with knowledge;
        a guidance and a mercy to those who believe.

        753 Are they waiting for what it says to come true?
        On the day it comes true, those who previously forgot it will say
        'The messengers of our Lord have come with the truth!
        Are there any intercessors to intercede for us?
        Or can we be sent back and we will work differently than what we did?'
        They have lost their souls and what they have invented has abandoned them.

        754 Your Lord is God who has created the heavens and the earth in six days,
        then He settled upon the Throne.
        The night runs away from the day, which seeks it continually;
        and the sun and the moon and the stars are commissioned by His command;
        to Him is the creation and the command.
        Glory to God, the Lord of the worlds.

        755 Call on your Lord in humility and in secret.
        He does not like the aggressors.

        756 And do not corrupt the earth after it has been made right;
        and call on Him fearing and hoping.
        Surely the mercy of God is near from the righteous.

        Salaam,

        P.S. rambutan ni orang Indonesia bukan ya? Salam kenal ya... D

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        • R Offline
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          Rev_John
          wrote on last edited by
          #4

          Over the last few weeks, I devoted some time to read books and browse websites related to astrophysics (universe, stars, planets, cosmos etc etc) and I couldn't sleep well of late. My wife noticed a change in my character as my mind seems to be wandering and i also felt like experiencing social withdrawal or something like that. I feel mentally and psychologically troubled by the fact that Earth is like a grain of sand on all beaches in the world. Pictures of galaxies showing billions and billions of galaxies, each with billions of stars really really affected me mentally, psychologically and spiritually. I feel like I am being grip by the fear of sliding into a state of nothingness or something when I die, knowing that the planet I live on is just like a speck of dust. I am sure modern medicine will classify me as having a mental illness if I subject my mind to their examination. I wonder how most people manage this fear.

          As an astrophysicist, I can understand your problem, but it is a temporary problem. When you look further into the subject you will see how everything in the universe is made of the same stuff - even us. So we are not insignificant, we are an integral part of the universe, just as important as anything else. As you understand the universe more you will see that it points to some form of order that we do not yet quite understand but will either remove or strengthen your faith in God depending how you understand it. Thinking, challenges, and an open mind is always a good thing.

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            Abdun_Nur
            wrote on last edited by
            #5

            Salaam Rambutan,

            If you feel daunted by the scale of the universe, the universe is truly daunted by the scale of Allah (Not God) in equal measure.

            This is really the point to ponder, do not worry about the perceived scale of the physical creation, it is in truth insignificant, simply a single drop in an infinite fluidic ocean, which itself is a drop in the next, Allah manifests all through pure thought, so consider how others think of you, before you worry about how Allah may notice you exist, Allah has thought you into existence, Allah must think of you to maintain your existence, so do not worry, Allah does not perceive you insignificant.

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              Rami
              wrote on last edited by
              #6

              Astrophysics is a lie.

              The universe is just a background with moving lights and its smaller than you think.

              The Earth is huge and and the seven heavens goes around it. Each heaven move at a particular speed. For example the heaven of the sun rotates around the Earth in 24 hours, that of the moon in 24 hr 50 min and that of the stars in 23 hr 57 min. These differential speeds creates the phases, the percessions etc.

              Maybe this will cheer you up a bit.

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                Rev_John
                wrote on last edited by
                #7

                Astrophysics is a lie.

                The universe is just a background with moving lights and its smaller than you think.

                The Earth is huge and and the seven heavens goes around it. Each heaven move at a particular speed. For example the heaven of the sun rotates around the Earth in 24 hours, that of the moon in 24 hr 50 min and that of the stars in 23 hr 57 min. These differential speeds creates the phases, the percessions etc.

                Maybe this will cheer you up a bit.

                rotfl bravo rotfl Nice one!

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                • U Offline
                  U Offline
                  unknownuser
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #8

                  Astrophysics is a lie.

                  The universe is just a background with moving lights and its smaller than you think.

                  The Earth is huge and and the seven heavens goes around it. Each heaven move at a particular speed. For example the heaven of the sun rotates around the Earth in 24 hours, that of the moon in 24 hr 50 min and that of the stars in 23 hr 57 min. These differential speeds creates the phases, the percessions etc.

                  Maybe this will cheer you up a bit.

                  brother, its not a lie

                  http//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Rotating_earth_%28huge%29.gif

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                    Rev_John
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #9

                    I think Rami was joking

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                    • M Offline
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                      MUNZIR_ALI
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #10

                      Astrophysics is a lie.

                      The universe is just a background with moving lights and its smaller than you think.

                      The Earth is huge and and the seven heavens goes around it. Each heaven move at a particular speed. For example the heaven of the sun rotates around the Earth in 24 hours, that of the moon in 24 hr 50 min and that of the stars in 23 hr 57 min. These differential speeds creates the phases, the percessions etc.

                      Maybe this will cheer you up a bit.

                      Its so big that you measure it in light years.

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                      • M Offline
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                        MUNZIR_ALI
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #11

                        Over the last few weeks, I devoted some time to read books and browse websites related to astrophysics (universe, stars, planets, cosmos etc etc) and I couldn't sleep well of late. My wife noticed a change in my character as my mind seems to be wandering and i also felt like experiencing social withdrawal or something like that. I feel mentally and psychologically troubled by the fact that Earth is like a grain of sand on all beaches in the world. Pictures of galaxies showing billions and billions of galaxies, each with billions of stars really really affected me mentally, psychologically and spiritually. I feel like I am being grip by the fear of sliding into a state of nothingness or something when I die, knowing that the planet I live on is just like a speck of dust. I am sure modern medicine will classify me as having a mental illness if I subject my mind to their examination. I wonder how most people manage this fear.

                        I had that too. But for a few days. I really got facinated by GOD's creation of the universe.

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                          rambutan
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #12

                          Dear San, no, i'm from malaysia.

                          I thot the earth is flat and is carried on the back of a giant bull.
                          (just kidding)

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                            Rev_John
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #13

                            Dear San, no, i'm from malaysia.

                            I thot the earth is flat and is carried on the back of a giant bull.
                            (just kidding)

                            rotfl bravo

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                            • S Offline
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                              sarah2505
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #14

                              @rambutan, I think you are overreacting
                              @RasulHamsa, that's a very cool animation. Where is the link?

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                                MUNZIR_ALI
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #15

                                Dear San, no, i'm from malaysia.

                                I thot the earth is flat and is carried on the back of a giant bull.
                                (just kidding)

                                bravo rotfl

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                                • R Offline
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                                  Rami
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #16

                                  Dear brother,

                                  This is not a lie...there is no difference between geocentricity and heliocentricity...they are mathematically the same. If you think that gravitational laws are perfect...go and study the paradoxes of deep cosmic bodies and how they behave in complete contradiction to gravitational laws.

                                  There is no way to prove or disprove whether or not the Earth moves...it is that simple. Till now that is.

                                  Peace out.

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                                    rambutan
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #17

                                    @rambutan, I think you are overreacting
                                    @RasulHamsa, that's a very cool animation. Where is the link?

                                    I feel much much better now when I'm reminded of the fact that the Creator also created our sense of humour. I think it will be really stressful if we overlook God's creations like a human sense of humour, "funny" animals etc etc but ponder only on the billions of galaxies, stars, hell and heaven etc. For your information, the last time I became stressed like this was when I happened on the website www.submission.org a few years ago.

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                                    • S Offline
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                                      san
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #18

                                      I feel much much better now when I'm reminded of the fact that the Creator also created our sense of humour. I think it will be really stressful if we overlook God's creations like a human sense of humour, "funny" animals etc etc but ponder only on the billions of galaxies, stars, hell and heaven etc. For your information, the last time I became stressed like this was when I happened on the website www.submission.org a few years ago.

                                      You're right, Malaysian rambutan ;D That site need more humour. That's something you get a lot here!

                                      Peace

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                                      • R Offline
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                                        Rev_John
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #19

                                        You're right, Malaysian rambutan ;D That site need more humour. That's something you get a lot here!

                                        Peace

                                        Well from most of us anyway. laugh

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                                          MUNZIR_ALI
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #20

                                          Well from most of us anyway. laugh

                                          Extra humor from the forum obsessed ones. yay

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