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| The Quran on the Cerebrum Zafarun Nisa Khan “No!
If he does not stop, We will take him by the ‘naseyah’ (front
of the head or forelock), a lying, sinful ‘naseyah’!”
(Quran, 96:15-16) “I put my trust in God, My Lord and your
Lord! There is not a moving creature but He hath grasp of its forelock,
verily it is my Lord that is on a straight path.”
(Quran 11.56) ‘Grasp of the forelock’ is an Arabic
idiom, referring to a horse’s forelock.
The man who grasps it has complete power over the horse, and for
the horse the forelock is as it were the crown of his beauty, the sum of
his power of self-assertion. So
God’s power over all creatures is unlimited and no one can withstand His
decree. The forelock is on the forehead and is thus symbolical
of the summit and crown of the man’s power or dignity. To be dragged by it is to suffer the lowest dregs of
humiliation. (Yusaf Ali) There is no living being over which He has
not complete control and which is not entirely dependent on Him. When describing a person’s humility and subjection to
another person, the ancient Arabs used to say, ‘The forelock of
so-and-so is in the hand of so-and-so. ‘
(Muhammad Asad) Why did the Quran describe the front of the
head as being lying and sinful? The ‘Essentials of Anatomy &
Physiology’ describes the function of the prefrontal area of the
cerebrum: “The motivation and the foresight to plan and initiate
movements occur in the anterior portion of the frontal lobes, the
prefrontal area. This is a region of association cortex...” and that:
“In relation to its involvement in motivation, the prefrontal area is
also thought to be the functional center for aggression....”(Seely). The cerebrum controls the highest
intellectual functions: thinking, learning, and problem solving. Through
the limbic system, it regulates emotion and memory; plus, it receives
sensory information such as pain, heat, and cold.
It is believed to determine intelligence, personality,
interpretation of sensory impulses, motor function, planning and
organization. It is involved
with reasoning, learning, and memory. So, this area of the cerebrum is
responsible for initiating good and bad behavior and is responsible for
the telling of lies and the speaking of truth. Scientists have discovered these functions
of the prefrontal area in the last sixty years, according to Professor
Keith L. Moore. References: |