The Quran on the Cerebrum

Author: 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: Ali, Yusaf; Translation of the Quran.  Footnotes Sûrah 11 & 96 Asad, Muhammad; Meaning of the Quran.  Footnotes Sûrah 11 & 96 Moore; Al-E’jaz al-Elmy fee al-Naseyah (The Scientific Miracles in the Front of the Head), p. 41. Noback ; The Human Nervous System,  pp. 410-411. Seeley; Essentials of Anatomy & Physiology, p. 211.