056 Is Man Special?

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1 56 Is Man Special?

CULTURE OF ISLAM

056 Is Man Special?

Imtiaz Muhsin

23-Dec-11

The main objective of these talks (and therefore the scripts of these talks), is to stimulate thinking.

Sensible, rational and logical thinking. So, my message, think, think & think!

Be sensible, be rational and be logical.


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Please Note

1. I have had the great privilege, (since Aug 2010), of presenting talks on the weekly Radio ProgramCulture of Islam [Every Friday 8 to 8.30 pm, Radio Sri Lanka - FM 97.4]

2. Since these are Radio Talks, I refer to, or address the audience as listeners3. I am well aware that the audience to these talks would consist of people belonging to a variety offaiths. So as to make people of all faiths feel included, I very often use words and names that are

common to all religions.

4. For these reasons, I use the name GOD, as well as Abraham, Moses, Jesus etc as well as thenames Allah, Ibrahim (Alaihis Salaam), Moosa (Alaihis Salaam), Easa (Alaihis Salaam) etc

5. Muslims by habit usually say Sallallahu Alaihiwasallam, when the name of Prophet Muhammadis mentioned, and Alaihis Salaam' when the name of a Prophet is mentioned. However, in these

series of talks I have reduced the use of these prayers & sayings to the bare minimum.

6. Muslims, also by habit, use a number of Arabic prayers or sayings, such as Alhamdulillah, InshaAllah and so on. Again, I have reduced the use of these prayers or sayings to the bare minimum.

7. Sometimes I have to write Arabic words in the English script.I have devised my own way of writing Arabic in English, as follows;th s DHL H Gh

TH Ss DHZ h GH

SW

Information on these talks along with all download links can be found on my on my Blog(http://imtiazm.wordpress.com/)

The dates or the schedules of these talks can be viewed on the Facebook Page(http://www.facebook.com/ImtiazMuhsin786)

The Scripts of these talks can be downloaded from www.ScribD.com(www.ScribD.com Author Imtiaz Muhsin)

The audio files of these talks can be downloaded from YouTube(YouTube Channel Imtiaz Muhsin)

The YouTube Link to this talk is atAll Praise and Thanks

is due to Allah and Allah aloneAlhamdulillah!

P.S. The Picture on the cover is that of the Mutwal Jummah Mosque in Colombo, Sri Lanka


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056 Is Man Special?

Dear Friends,

Assalamu Alaikum,

I greet all of you with Assalamu Alaikumwhich, I am sure you would recognize as thegreeting of a Muslim, and means Peace unto you! orPeace be upon you!

Today, Alhamdulillah, I am continuing with another episode in the Series Knowing Allah and

this time I have chosen the topic Is Man Special?

Now, the obvious reaction or the answer to this would be Yes, of course we are special, we are

very special! and I am sure listeners would come up with a number ofvery valid reasons as to

why Man is so special.

But then I am also certain that a number of people would tell us, Yes, Man is special, in fact we

would agree that he is very special, but then, are not every species of animals or even plantsspecial in their own way? Do they all not display some characteristics that are special only to

them? That would make them stand out from the others? Not just the whole animal kingdom or

the whole plant kingdom, but each and every species of plants and each and every species of

animals displays characteristics that are only special to that particular species of plants or of

animals

That would be very correct. But the point that I am trying to draw attention to is, that all species

of animals and plants are special, and those specialties can be categorized, there is something

common about them.

But then, there are certain specialties of Man that do not simply fall or click onto those

categories, the specialties that Man displays or demonstrates are above those categoriesit is like

sayingyes we do have SPECIAL characteristics that is SPECIAL to our species, just like every

species have characteristics that are special to them.

But then in Ma(aa)n these Characteristics sort of give us a position that sort of makes us dominate

every other species of animals and plants on earth. That is what is special about Man.

Because this is a very moot point, I would like to attempt to explain it once morethe different

characteristics displayed by each species of animals and plants, confirms its position in the animal

or plant kingdomeach one of them is like a cog in the workings of this vast and complex animaland plant kingdoms, whilst in the case of man, the parallel characteristics we possess do not just

identify the cog or the niche we occupy in the animal and plant kingdoms, but these

characteristics clearly points to the fact that we dominate the animal and plant kingdoms, we

possess the capabilities to manage to even manipulate certain domains of the plant and animal

kingdoms. Of course that capability is very limited, but still it is sufficient to make us stand out

amongst all other physical forms of life on this planet Earth.

This observation obviously needs more explaining, but I think what I have described is sufficient

for any person to listen to and then to think out for himself the vast areas that this statement

covers.


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Now, when we discuss the different special characteristics of plants and animals, especially of

man, we could draw many points of view or opinions from different people.

For example, the Doctor would tell us about the special amazing characteristics of Man with

regard to his physiology or his bio mechanics. The engineer would give us another viewmaybe

the ability of man to harness the resources in his environment so as to create his own comfortable,

safe, human friendly environment. Similarly with the mathematician, the architect and the

scientist, in whatever discipline he may be in.

The purpose of this talk is to present to you the views or the Aayathwhich is translated to mean

the Signs that Allah Taaalah has revealed in the Holy Quran that points out to us our specialty.

When we read these Aayath and meditate on its meanings, then we would realize that the points

given here can only come from the One who has created us. These are not points that would be

observed by Doctors or Engineers or Lawyersbut could only be pointed out to us by one who is

intimately aware of our workings as well as the workings of everything in this Universe.

So now to put our observations in perspectivewe would have to first observe the animal

Kingdom and look for the main categories that the characteristics of each animal could be

conveniently categorized into. We would then have to look for this corresponding characteristic inMan, observe its specialty and then read the Quran Aayath that describes this feature I found

this to be a very interesting and intellectually stimulating exercise.

Let me explain and let me begin by trying to show some of the differences between the different

species of living creaturespointing out to you the differences, whilst also showing that there is

some commonality in this variety of differences, and thereafter pointing out to you the Super

Differences or the Super Unique qualities that Man possesses, and then relating them to

Aayaths in the Holy Quranthose which Allah Taaalah is pointing out to us.

Let us take a simple example, one where the differences would be very obvious.

For example the Butterfly is very different to the Lion. We could even say the characteristics of

the Butterfly are very different to the characteristics of the Lion.

The Butterfly enjoys all its characteristics that are tailor made to fit (1) its niche in the chain of

evolution, (2) its environment, (3) its lifestyle or eco role and (4) its arrangement in the food

chain.

Similar is the case of the Lion.

We could then, also take the case of the Lion and the Polar Bearboth are Mammals and both are

Carnivorousbut then both have different characteristicsagain, tailor made to fit (1) its niche

in the chain of evolution, (2) its environment, (3) its lifestyle or eco role and (4) its position at theapex of the food chain.

As you can see I am just looking at 4 areas of characteristicsthere would obviously be many

more, but these 4 characteristics should suffice for the purposes of our understanding.

Again, what are these 4 factors?

1. Its niche in the chain of evolution,

2. Its environment,

3. Its lifestyle or eco role and

4. Its position in the food chain.


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Now, let us take Man and try to see how Man is specialespecially when we view man from the

view point of these 4 factors.

1. Mans niche in the chain of evolution.

Let us briefly look at the evidence for the theory of evolution.

Now Scientists give us a range of compelling evidence to show that the Universe first came in to

being around some 13.7 billion years ago and has been undergoing a series of transformations

over several ages or phases, each lasting millions and some even billions of years.

Life on Earth, as we know it, had begun maybe around 3.5 to 4 billion years ago. That is the

evidence we have through studies of fossils.

Life on earth had begun as single cell organisms and through a series of breathtaking changes or

mutations over several Millions of years, some individuals of each organism evolved to a more

complex organism.

Usually the original or the parent organism remained and continued to procreate filling in a vitalniche in the very complex system of directly supporting its own species as well as in very subtle

ways indirectly supporting other organisms as well as the phenomena of life itself.

Each organism played its role in its own unique eco system.

So we have compelling evidence to show that a segment of the population of each organism, over

time, gradually giving rise or evolving into more complex organisms.

Today the most complex of these are the evolved organisms are the vertebratesthe 5 classes

being:

1. The Land dwellersthe Mammals2. The Water dwellersthe Fish

3. Those that Fly - the Birds or the Aves

4. Those that live in Water and Land but lay their eggs in waterthe Amphibians

5. Those that live in Land and Water but lay their eggs in Landthe Reptiles

There is an orderly collection of evidence over timecovering millions and sometimes billions of

years,mostly in form of fossils that show when each of these Classes of Animals as well as

species evolved on earth.

However where Man and his evolution is concerned, there are a series of HUGE questions.

All available evidence strongly suggests that Man or the species that we call the Homo sapiens

had arrived on this planet around 100,000 to 200,000 years ago.

Why do I use the word arrived and not evolved?

I would say that according to all available evidence all species of animals and plants have evolved

but in the case of Man I would say he arrived on Planet Earthwhy do I say this?

When we study the imagined chart of evolution we can easily see where each organism fits in.

Each organism has an identifiable niche in the animal or the plant kingdom, as the case maybe..


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Now the most surprising fact is that in this evolutionary chart that we are drawing, we would find

that there is a considerable gap, a number of unfilled niches between the Primates and Man.

According to what we see there has to have been at least20 other species between the most

evolved Primate and Man.

There is evidence of a species which we call the Homo erectus that lived around 1.4 MYA to

50,000 years ago, and then nothing or it would be more correct to say a few smatterings of some

individual fossils of maybe advanced speciesin different parts of the wordbut their

evolutionary features are still far from the features displayed by Man or Homo sapiens.

There is evidence to show that Homo erectus had evolved from the Primates, but then Homo

erectus went extinct at least 50,000 years agoand it is obvious that the development or the

supposed evolutionary gap between Homo erectus and Homo sapiens has to be several steps.

Now what makes Man different from the other living creaturesespecially the most evolved ones

the Primates?

1. Man is an excellent communicatorhe uses his senses to see, to hear, to touch, to think andthen he processes all this information to make sense and then stores this information for rapid

retrieval. Right through his life he keeps on adding to his storehouse of experiences and is always

trying to reason out what is happening and what he should do. So with age his knowledge

matures.

Now man communicates his experiences and his knowledge with other human beingsthose in

his society. Man has also developed the skill to convey this knowledge or information to the next

generation who in turn improve or build on this knowledge and continue to convey this to the next

generationsin this manner Man has the skill of not just communicating with other humans but

of also collecting his knowledge and passing it down to future generations to build on and to

improvethis feature is not observed in any other animals.

2. Man has a highly developed Central Nervous System or the Brainwhich performs many

functionsto detect sensations through the sensory organs, to recognize these senses, to organize

these sensations, to process what signals it is receiving, to compare these signals or sensations to

similar sensations it has received before, to provide alternative lines of action and to store the

experience along with the experience of the resultant actionsan amazing set of faculties.

3. The specialized use of its appendages or handsit is an amazing structure that enables man to

do many innovative tasks and even to create machines for tasks that man is unable to do on his

ownthis is an amazing feature.

Animals have legs, or hands or finsbut all of those appendages can be used only for a very

limited, specialized duties or functions.

Now if we say that man had evolved from, let us say the Apes, or even from any other creature

this is how the sequence of evolution should have taken place;

There should have been an environment that made apes to think a little more, to use their hands a

little morethis would have given rise to new species 1.

Then there should have been another environment that made new species 1, to think even more

and to use their hands even morethis would give rise to new species 2.


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Then there should have been another environment that made new species 2, to think even more,

maybe to even begin sorting out the information that was inundating their brains through their

sensesthis would give rise to new species 3.

Then there should have been another environment that made new species 3, to think even more, to

sorting out the information stimulating their senses as well as the capability to communicate or to

share this information with the others in this societythis would give rise to new species 4.

Then there would have been another environment that made new species 4, to think even more, to

sorting out the information, sharing or exchanging information or knowledge with society and

another new feature developing the ability to hand over this knowledge or information to the next

generationthis would give rise to new species 5, and so on.

Where is the evidence regarding these species and where are those environments??

It appears that all life has been created, and then over the ages different forms have evolved to fit

environments or eco systemsexcept in the case of Man.

So we ask the question, what happened to Man or how is he on earth?

It appears that Man was created using the blue print of the Primates, and Man was created from

the same material as all other creaturesthat is from Earth.

So it appears that Man was created, the blueprint appears to be based on that of the evolved

Primates, and the enhanced features or accessories viz. his brain and other parts of his anatomy

were fashioned, and then he was sent in to this Earth.

Now let us see how Allah Taaalah describes it;

Firstly let us see how Allah Taala describes himself as the Creator.

Would that be enough?

Surely as a student struck by the Theory of Evolution and all its connected evidence would I not

ask, Should not Allah Taaalah describe himself not just as the Creator but also as the Evolver?

Then again, surely as a person observing that Man did not evolve as such but certain of mans

most important or outstanding characteristics or faculties seem to have been fashioned, then

should I not ask, Should not Allah Taaalah describe himself not just as the Creator or the

Creator & the Evolver but I would expect him to describe himself as the Creator the Evolver

and the Fashioner? Is that correct?

In Surah HashrSurah No 59 Aayath No 24;


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Summary

Mufti Taqi

Usman

Marmaduke

Pikthall

Dr. Mohsin

KhanYusuf Ali

Al KhaaliQ the Creator, the Creator, the Creator, the Creator,

Al Baari the Evolver,the Shaper out of

naught,

the Inventor of

all things,the Evolver,

Mu Sauwwiru the Fashioner the Fashionerthe Bestower of

forms

the Bestower of

Forms

Now let us see how Allah describes these processesthey are beautifully worded to give us many

enlightening lessons;

There are two very salient points in this Aayath;

1. Allah is going to create a Basharnow who or what is a Bashar?

It is a communicator of good news. Not just good news such as winning a lottery, getting

through an exam or winning an electionbut news that embodies goodness or we could even

say information to the ways of enlightenment.

So, for a Bashar to be created, that Bashar should have all the tools or the faculties to play the role

of a Bashar. He should not just have senses, but he should have the capability of processing thestimulations or the information that is being received by those senses and be able to process this

information and to rationally reason out the goodness in these messages.

He should be able to read this goodness and convey it in a good manner to all human beings. That

would qualify him to be a Bashar

2. So, Allah Taaalah tells us that He is going to create a Bashar, and then he also informs us that

this Bashar is going to be created out of Min SWalSWaalim Min Hama imMasnoon Ringing

clay of decayed mud in other words out of the same material that He has created all living

organisms on Earthmaybe indicating that the basic blueprint for this Bashr would be based on

that of the most evolved creatures on Earththe Apes

Then Allah Taaalah also tells us;


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So Allah Taaalah tells us that e is going to place this Khaleefah or the vicegerent on this Earth.

So (1) the Bashr is being created, (2) the Khaleefah is being placed.

In other words, the Bashar or the communicator of good is being created, and (this Bashr) is going

to be placed on Earth as a Khaleefaha vicegerentinteresting no?

So, now let us see, what points Allah Taala is telling us about what valuable qualities He gives

Aadham AS, (which would be the qualities of Man)

1. Allah Taala is telling us about the physical material He uses for this creation;15:28 Wa Iz Qaala Rabbuka lil Malaaikathi And when your Rabb said to the Angels

KhaaliQun Bashara(n)m Indeed I will create a (Bashar) a human

Min SWalSWaali(n)m From ringing clay

Min hamai(n)m Masnoon made of decayed mud

2. He also tells us that this Man is going to be his Khaleefah;(2:30) Wa Iz Qaala Rabbuka lil Malaaikathi and when your Rabb said to the Angels

Innee Jaaghilun fil ArDHli Khaleefathan I am going to place a vicegerent (Khaleefah)

on Earth

3. He also tells us that this man is his Bashr or news or Signs broadcaster;(15:28) Wa Iz Qaala Rabbuka lil Malaaikathi And when your Rabb said to the Angels

KhaaliQun Bashara(n)m Indeed I will create a (Bashar) a human

4. And then Allah Taala tells us about something special that he gives or does with AadhamAS He says (Fa Izaa SawwaithuHu So, when I have fashioned him)

15:29 Fa izaa Sawwaiy thuHu So when, I have fashioned him


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This could mean;

Shape

Knowledge

5. Allah Taala tells us that He taught Aadham AS

(2:31) Wa ghallama Aadhama And He taught Aadham

l Asmaaa kullaHaa The names, all of them

6. and then, Allah Taala has breathed his spirit (His Ruh) in to him,

(15:29) Wa nafakhthu FeeHi mi(n)r Roohee And breathed into him of my spirit (Ruh)

Fa Qaghoo laHu Saajidheen Then fall down to him prostrating

7. and then Allah Taaalah tells us that He has inspired in us the ability to perceive between right

and wrongis this not correctno other animal has this deep sense of whats right & whats

wrong.

(Surah Shums)

DO not all these points give us an enormous amount of information or wealth of information

about the special place man has on this Earth and do not all these points neatly fit give us an

enlightening rationally acceptable description?

When viewed in the manner as instructed by Allah Taaalah, then the many special features of

Man makes sense and then, we have to make sense to find out our role in this World.

Now let me go through the other 3 points, which I said were the 4 factors that differentiated man

from the other living organisms or other animals and plants.

What are these 4 factors?

1. Its niche in the chain of evolution,

2. Its environment,

3. Its lifestyle or eco role and4. Its position in the food chain.

We just completed the 1st factor

2. Now, to discuss about the environment factorthe 2nd

factor.

All organisms are environment specific.

Simply put, the Zebra has its own environment and the Polar Bear its own environment.


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The Earth has a tremendous variety of environments; we may even call them eco systems. We are

not just referring to the physical factors such as temp, humidity, height above sea level but even

factors such as the availability of food, the availability of the many resources, the ability and the

skills to locate and to hunt down their food as well as to adapt to the weather patterns and the

changing seasons

In the environment that the Zebra lives in, there would be plenty of grass and shrubsthe staple

diet of the Zebra, whilst in the environment of the Polar Bear there would be Seals, one of the

main items that constitute the food of the Polar Bearbut then remember Polar Bears live on

Land or on Ice whilst Seals live in the Sea or the Sea Shore.

Now let us look at the case of Mandoes he not occupy almost every environment or eco system

on Land?

In Sura Mulk (Surah 67 Aayath No 15), Allah Taaalah draws our attention as follows;

Now in the case of Man, he has the faculties to adapt to any environmentand where food is

concerned, he has the ability to cook his foodno other animal has this capability. So Man

ensures that he can adapt to any environment and if the food available in that environment is not

ready made for human consumption, then Man has developed the ability to process this food or to

cook this food so as to suit both his palate as well as his digestion.

Now for the 3rd factor

3. Its lifestyle or Eco Rolethe 3rd

factor

This could best be understood if we were to look at the life of a butterflyit goes through 4

stagesthe egg, the caterpillar, the cocoon and the Butterfly.

For each stage we could say there is a different environment a different eco role.

It is similar when we look at the lifestyle or eco role of animals during the 4 seasons.

If we were to take the example of birds that migrate they occupy different geographical

localities during different seasons, and the life styles or the phases of their lives are different in

these different location. Thus we see them having a migratory season, a mating season, and egg

incubating season, feeding the chicks season etc.

In the case of other animals we see them in the same geographical location but adapting to the

different seasonsso now we see a hibernating mode and an active modeand similarly like in

the case of birds, we see them performing different roles during different seasons.

In the case of Man there are no seasonal rolesMan just adapts to the seasonshe tries to

maintain the most comfortable lifestyle throughout.


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And lastly we discuss the 4th factor

4. Mans position in the food chain.This needs quite a bit of explanation but for the purposes of this talk it is sufficient to say that

Man is not a predator or a prey in the food chainman is above all thatwe do not really hunt -

like all other predatory animals do, we have a higher organizationwe farm.

Thus, we relate to the agricultural revolution.

We farm crops, we herd cattlewe manage all our resourcesand unfortunately in this process

Man becomes evil. Man becomes ungrateful.

I thank Allah Taaalah for giving me this opportunity of preparing for these series of talks.

So, I hope that through this talk, listeners would agree that Man is not just specialhe is Super

special and the manner in which the Holy Quran draws our attention to these characteristics or

qualities or the God given favors to Manis truly revealing, truly enlightening.

So now summing it up in a really interesting mannerit actually excites me;

All living organisms appear to have evolved on Earthhowever Man has arrived.

In other words we are aliensyes, I repeat we are aliens.

Our space ship is our bodies. Earth is a transitory place. Our actual destination is either Heaven

or Hell.

At first this thought would make you smile, but as you keep on examining the evidence in front of

youthen many things would begin to make sense.

I hope all you listeners enjoyed listening to this presentation as much as I enjoyed preparing for it

and then presenting it to you.

May Allah Taaalah guide us all and accept us all.

Jazza Kalla Khairan.

Assalamu Alaikum

Imtiaz MuhsinColombo Sri Lanka

[email protected]

You Tube Channel - HaneefanMusliman
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Series 2The Talks numbered 054 to 071 is under a series titled Knowing Allah Taaalah or Knowing

GOD

The details of the scripts of these 16 Episodes (Talks) are as follows;

Talk No Talk Number & TitleDate

BroadcastDetails of Picture on Cover

Episode 1 054 IlmKnowing AllahDec 9

th

2011

Wellawatte Jummah Mosque in

Colombo, Sri Lanka

Episode 2 055 Rationality - The Foundation of Islam Dec 16h

2011Parasangaswewa Mosque(a remote village)

in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

Episode 3 056 Is Man Special?Dec 23

t

2011

Mutwal Jummah Mosque in

Colombo, Sri Lanka

Episode 4 057 Ar Rahmaan - The BeneficentDec 30

th

2011

The Akbar Mosque in Slave Island,

Colombo, Sri Lanka

Episode 5 058 Nature or GOD?Jan 6

th

2012

Mosque in Matara, from the

Southern Province of Sri Lanka

Episode 6 059 Our Relationship with GOD!Jan 13

th

2012

Beach Mosque at Kalmunaikudi

in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka

Episode 7Sub Series:

060 Is this what we are created for?

(Is this what we are created for? Part 1)

Jan 20th

2012

A Mosque in the Kurnegala District,

Sri Lanka

Episode 8

Sub Series:

061 What do we see on Earth


Jan 27th

2012

Maradana Jummah Mosque in

Colombo, Sri Lanka

Episode 9

Sub Series:

062 Who are WE? Where do we fit in?


Feb 3rd

2012

Colpetty Jummah Mosque, in

Colombo, Sri Lanka

Episode 10Sub Series:063 Our benefits on Earth


Feb 10th

2012

The Jummah Mosque atNatpidimunnai, in the Ampara

District, Sri Lanka

Episode 11

Sub Series:

066 What makes us 'Stand Out'?

What makes us 'Special'?


Feb 17th

2012

The Devatagaha Mosque in

Colombo, Sri Lanka

Episode 12

Sub Series:

067 Who is in charge?


Feb 24th

2012

A Mosque in a rural village in theAmpara District, in Sri Lanka

Episode 13

Sub Series:

068 What ALLAH Teaches Us,

About Himself


Mar 2nd

2012

The Jummah Mosque in Oluvil a

village in the Ampara District, Sri

Lanka

Episode 14

Sub Series:

069 Our Special Faculties

How they should be used,

How they should not be used!


Mar 9th

2012

The Dhanakawewa Jummah

Mosque in a remote village in the

Anuradhapura District in Sri Lanka

Episode 15Sub Series:

070 The TWO Paths

Mar 16th

2012

Mosque at Madhavakulam in the

Puttlam District, Sri Lanka

Episode 16

071 Is this what we are created for?

A review of Parts 1 to 8 from the Sub Series

Is this what we are created for?

Mar 23rd

2012

A Mosque by a river in the Eastern

Province, Sri Lanka

056 Is Man Special?

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Transcript of 056 Is Man Special?