You see for years now we have shoehorned ourselves into all manner of estate cars and small MPV’s often resulting in miserable journeys that involve everybody being cramped and arguing with each other. Family holidays should normally be a pleasurable experience for all but all too often ours seem to descend into petty bickering with each other and the dog usually joins in for good measure.

We finally arrive at our destination tired and hoarse from all the shouting and with the windows steamed up because my kids insist on the interior temperature to be more akin to a portable sauna. Sometimes I long for one of those Perspex screens that taxis have that I could just slide across to drown out the endless chorus of “I’m bored” or “Are we there yet?.”

Then there’s all the stuff you have to take with you, I vaguely remember in my younger single days I could go away for a week with nothing more than a spare pair of underpants and a toothbrush and could always jettison the pants if required. Nowadays it seems we have to transport every conceivable modern day luxury with us and frankly might as well just hook the house up to the back of the car and drag it with us down the motorway.

There have been a few times recently when I have lost the plot and said to my kids that I’m going to go to the builder’s merchant and buy a few bags of sand and empty them in the living room so we can just pretend we are on the beach.

I am pleased to report that this is all behind us now as we are the proud owners of a new Ford Galaxy. I had driven a Galaxy a few years ago when my friend organised a stag party and in his wisdom turned up in a 2.3 petrol engine model much to our consternation as we had to drive it all the way to Amsterdam. Suffice to say that after satisfying the copious thirst for fuel this thing had there was very little left in the kitty for our drinking activities and certainly nothing left to fund a night in the arms of one of those nice ladies in the window which we had planned for him.

Despite that I do recall the Ghia model which we had was luxuriously appointed with leather and wood although it did remind me somewhat of a gentleman’s drawing room. I decided to opt for the Zetec model which is well equipped but has a more high-tech feel to the interior.

There was just a question of where to make my purchase. These days there is a bewildering array of different places to visit from the traditional franchised dealers to car supermarkets and such like. After spending what felt like a lifetime on the internet I finally opted for Ford Deals Direct. They purchase from Ford and by cutting out the middleman are able to offer big discounts on new Ford cars. We saved a few thousand on the new list price which is great as the money we saved will go towards next years’ holiday to Wales. I can hardly wait as we now have dual zone air conditioning and a DVD system not to mention acres of space and room for seven. I might even have room for two pairs of pants!

Stars:

In the Bible, Habakkuk 3:11 says that the sun and moon stood still in their places at the light of your arrows as they sped, at the flash of your glittering spear.

In the Quran, Verse 35:13 says that Allah subdued the light of the sun and the moon to the service of human beings; and He has disposed the sun and the moon, each, of them, is moving, in its course, to an appointed term; to the Day of Resurrection.

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Habakkuk 3:11 in four different versions of the Bible:

New International Version

11 Sun and moon stood still in the heavens at the glint of your flying arrows, at the lightning of your flashing spear.

New American Standard Bible

11 Sun and moon stood in their places; They went away at the light of Your arrows, At the radiance of Your gleaming spear.

English Standard Version

11 The sun and moon stood still in their place at the light of your arrows as they sped, at the flash of your glittering spear.

King James Version

11The sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of thine arrows they went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear.

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The meaning of the verse:

Sun and Moon stopped in their tracks; your flashing arrows stopped them; your lightning-strike spears impaled them.

In other words, the verse says that the sun and moon stood still in their habitation at the light of your arrows as they sped, at the flash of your glittering spear.

It should be emphasized that the bible (Joshua 10) says also that the sun and the moon stood still for 24 hours in order to give Joshua the chance to kill thousands of kids, girls, women, young men and old men.

See the article: The Moon in the Bible versus the Quran (1) in this series (1-10).

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Chapter 35: FATIR (THE ANGELS)

Verse 35:13 of the Noble Quran in four different translations:

QARIB: he causes the night to enter into the day and the day into the night. he has subjected the sun and the moon each running for a named term. such is Allah, your lord. to him belongs the kingdom; and those whom you call upon, other than him, do not possess even as much as the membrane of a date-stone.

SHAKIR: he causes the night to enter in upon the day, and he causes the day to enter in upon the night, and he has made subservient (to you) the sun and the moon; each one follows its course to an appointed time; this is Allah, your lord, his is the kingdom; and those whom you call upon besides him do not control a straw.

PICKTHAL: he maketh the night to pass into the day and he maketh the day to pass into the night. he hath subdued the sun and moon to service. each runneth unto an appointed term. such is Allah, your lord; his is the sovereignty; and those unto whom ye pray instead of him own not so much as the white spot on a date-stone.

YUSUFALI: he merges night into day, and he merges day into night, and he has subjected the sun and the moon (to his law): each one runs its course for a term appointed. such is Allah your lord: to him belongs all dominion. and those whom ye invoke besides him have not the least power.

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The meaning of the verse:

Allah makes the night pass, enter, into the day, so that it becomes longer, and He makes the day pass into the night, so that it becomes longer.

Allah subdued the light of the sun and the moon to the service of human beings.  And He has disposed the sun and the moon, each, of them, is moving, in its course, to an appointed term; to the Day of Resurrection.

That is Allah, your Lord; to Him all sovereignty belongs.

It is Allah, your Lord, Who does so, not the deities;

His is the Sovereignty, the Storehouses of the universe

As for those on whom you call, whom you worship, besides Allah, in other words, other than Him, they do not possess even so much as the husk of a date-stone.

In other words, those unto whom you pray, those whom you worship instead of Allah, they are unable to own of all that even the white spot on a date stone, i.e., they possess nothing.

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Back to my question for the smart reader:

Is the Quran quoted from the Bible?

Stars:

Is alien abduction or UFO sighting real events? People from all walks of life, religion, occupation and ethnicity have witnessed a flying, shining disc. And, many claim to have encountered contact with extraterrestrials through physical or psychological interventions. Usually the contacts are malevolent; forced medical tests conducted on the victims.

To assert that UFO is an extraterrestrial spacecraft is a delicate task, numerous claims have been subjected to examination and all of them have not exhibited any conclusive proof. Usually, photographic anomaly or a deceptive multimedia graphic comes forth in the limelight of the acclaimed photographs. However, when all such possibilities are ruled out, only then it can be safely proclaimed that extraterrestrial spacecraft are UFOs, until then we have to continue our journey into the scientology world.

According to a 1996 research, approximately 4 million Americans have claimed to been whisked aboard an alien craft unwillingly and subjected to medical experiments, or sexually assaulted. Victims have showcased their abduction through implants, cattle mutation or crop-circles, all of which contain no exclusive proof of being raided by extraterrestrial, and some are mystical in nature. Scientists have formulated theories that can provide a comprehensive explanation to these evidences.

Ufology is the branch of science that studies the existence of UFOs and extraterrestrial life. Scientists have categorized extraterrestrial species into three categories The Grays, Humanoids and Beast Like Aliens.

The Grays are described as highly evolved alien species who are up to 5 feet tall, have large heads, thin arms and legs, large shiny, opaque black eyes, and are remarkably intelligent. They have frequent occurrence as reported by witnesses.

Humanoids or Nordics are usually reported in Europe. They are super-humans, often referred as space brothers and carry an attractive and friendly poise.

Beast Like Aliens are ordinarily reported in South America and Africa. They include furry little monsters, giant blobs, Cyclopes, and giant insects.

According to a retired government physicist – Bob Lazar, alien aircraft operates on antigravity-propulsion. The craft generates its own gravitational field, compelling it to move forward at a perpetual cascading motion. The craft is built for rapid space travel, and appear to wobble and move sporadically when hovering or traveling at slow speeds. Fascinatingly numerous eyewitness descriptions stands in accordance with this theory.

It is fiercely believed that US government holds secret organizations like Men In Black and Jason Society, who engage in suppressing the extraterrestrial existence amongst human kind. The notorious “Roswell Incident has led us to believe that the United States Government has commenced with aliens to abduct and conduct experiments on human in lieu of their technology.

Stars:

Since then, cultures from around the world began drawing maps.  As the centuries passed, maps became larger and more detailed.  Sometimes historic maps had strange things drawn on them, such as unidentified objects in the sky, “creatures” in the sea, and even land masses that were never known to exist.  Were the ancients just using their imaginations, or did they know things about the world that we can only guess at?

Historic maps, for the most part, only depicted three continents at the most: Europe, Asia, and Africa.  Sometimes Jerusalem would be drawn exactly in the center.  The middle ages was a time for Christian maps, Anglo-Saxon maps, Indian maps, Arabic maps, Native American tribal maps, etc.  The Chinese, however, were usually ahead of the world with their map-making capabilities.  They had developed advanced map-making capabilities during the time of Ancient Rome.  By the time the rest of Asia, Europe and the Middle East caught up, the Chinese already had many maps drawn with considerable detail.  When the continents began trading with one another, Chinese maps would often come in handy.

Although many of the earliest antique world maps were drawn flat, round world maps have been made for centuries. One of the earliest world globes is the Martin Behaim Globe, which was produced in 1492.  North and South America were not shown on it, since its completion was done before Christopher Columbus’s fated journey.

Thanks to modern technology, we can now recreate historic maps in great detail.  Replicas of historic maps are now made and sold.  Some collectors even go so far as to buy antique world maps themselves — the real things!  Our fascination with maps has lasted for dozens of centuries, and because of our curious nature, we’ll continue making maps and globes for centuries to come.

Stars: