Great Advances in Technology
The technological advances of the twentieth century,
especially during its last quarter, were without historical precedent.
Many technological instruments that were unknown just 100 years
ago have become integral parts of our lives. The gap between the
technology of the previous century and of today has reached unimaginable
dimensions. Current developments provide important signs regarding
the technological advances from which people will benefit in the
Golden Age.
That age's technological advances will provide great
comfort and ease to people's lives. The time spent at home, at one's
job, and in school will be comfortable, enjoyable, and pleasant.
Housework, shopping, security systems, heating, ventilation, electricity
are just a few of the things that will be monitored by computers.
Robots will replace human labor in many areas. In their comfortable
armchairs, watching television, people will be able to handle their
work through remote-controlled robots. Scientists predict that housework,
instrument maintenance, removing of dust at home will be done by
robots, some as small as nanochips. By Allah's Will, all of these
predictions will come true, and the majority of time-consuming tasks
will be accomplished by technological instruments.
Technology will present the beauties of the world to
people. Through high-tech television, people will have the privilege
to see and enjoy three-dimensional environments and even to participate
in recreational activities and games. Virtual reality technology
will enhance learning and provide people with valuable life skills.
The extensive use of computers and Internet technologies
will bring radical changes to education. Home-schooling will be
easier and more involved with the developing virtual reality technologies.
More efficient learning systems, which will rely on gaining personal
experience through virtual reality technologies or the Internet,
will replace the classical education methods, which are based on
memorization. Virtual reality is used extensively today in training.
For example, environments that may be hazardous in the real world
can be simulated quite easily by using virtual reality technology.
Thanks to this technology, pilot training, for instance, has become
safe. In the Golden Age, these technologies will be applied from
business and planning to manufacturing and entertainment, and to
many diverse business domains.
The radical changes due to appear in education and training
in the Golden Age will benefit entire nations. As is the case with
all other times, those people of the Golden Age who live according
to the real spirit of the Qur'an's moral teachings will attain all
of the beauty, comfort, and ease that they deserve. They will live
amidst abundance.
Advances in Transportation
Advances in transportation will offer comfort and security
and minimize time loss. New highways and high-tech vehicles will
be instrumental in preventing accidents.
The extensive use of underground transportation will
eliminate traffic congestion. Electricity, solar energy, or wind
power will replace the air polluting fuel oils used in vehicles
and thus make cities more livable places.
Among His
signs is that He sends the winds bearing good news, to give
you a taste of His mercy, and to make the ships run by His
command, and to enable you to seek His bounty so that hopefully
you will be thankful.
(Surat ar-Rum:46) |
Supersonic planes, trains, and other high-tech vehicles
will offer all the comforts one may need. More importantly, this
technology will serve everyone, and not just a particular part of
the world's population. All people will have access to the same
technology, and discrimination will end.
The Pace of
Technological Advancement In The End Times
The technological advances
witnessed in the last two decades of the twentieth century
were unprecedented in world history. Many technological instruments
we had no idea of even 100 years ago are now integral parts
of our lives. Cellular phones, for instance, described as
a product of "space technology" in the journals
of the 1980s, are now the most ordinary means of communication.
These rapid scientific and technological developments provide
clues about the sort of technology that people will enjoy
in the Golden Age. |
The first sound recording was done by
Thomas Edison in 1877. During the last two decades, sound
quality has attained perfection in terms of quality.
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Until the 1960s, television-related technology could only
produce black and white televisions. Today, televisions offer
three-dimensional images and high-quality sound.
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Since Alexander Graham Bell invented
the telephone in 1876, communication technology has developed
rapidly and become widespread. The production of cellular
phones was a technological breakthrough. The next big step
in communication technology is expected to be video-phones.
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The twentieth century's greatest breakthrough
was computer technology. There is a tremendous gap between
the first bulky computers and the modern computers of today.
In many areas, ranging from medicine to education and from
science to agriculture, computers have changed the course
of our lives. |
Over the last 140 years of photography,
cameras have evolved into hundreds of species, ranging from
single-use pocket cameras to 4x5" studio cameras. Bridging
the gap to digital imaging took place during the last two
decades. |
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In the Golden Age,
more efficient learning systems that rely on gaining
personal experience through virtual reality technologies
or the Internet will replace the classical education
methods, which are based on the mere memorization of
learning material. |
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Environments that may be hazardous in
the real world can be simulated using virtual reality technology.
Thanks to this technology, pilot training, for instance, has
become safe. In the Golden Age, these technologies will be
used in all fields ranging from business and planning to manufacturing
and entertainment. |
It will be easier to notice the flaws and find solutions for
someone who is trained in car manufacturing in a virtual environment.
Thus, experience and quality will replace education based
on memorizing. |
Technological advances in the
Golden Age will add great comfort, ease, and joy to
people's lives. However, these benefits will not be
confined to a handful of people but will be available
to all people. |
Employing robots in technology
or housework will offer great comfort.
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In the Golden Age, technological advances in transportation
will put new energy resources to use. Electricity, solar energy,
or wind power will replace air-polluting fuel oils used in
vehicles, and thus will make cities more livable.
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The transition from steam locomotive
to supersonic trains has been very rapid. But in the Golden
Age, aside from speed, security and comfort also will gain
importance. |
The extensive use of underground transportation
will improve all cities' beauty and eliminate traffic congestion.
As a result, people will live in more beautiful and pleasing
cities. |
Advances in Communication
Great advances in communication will provide very rapid
communication and information exchange among all people, regardless
of location. Satellite-based telecommunication networking, in particular,
will provide tremendously rapid communication, and holographic telephones
will introduce a new dimension to communication by projecting a
life-size holographic image of the person being called.
Computer and Internet Technology in Humanity's
Service
Computer technologies will surely play a great role
in the abundance of blessings. Today, computers are improving life
quality in houses, workplaces, medicine, communication, the arts,
and so on. In the Golden Age, these developments will accelerate
in the socioeconomic domain on a global basis and bring more comfort
to humanity.
In the twentieth century, Internet technology opened
a new era by making communication and information sharing almost
instantaneous. Learning, reading an international organization's
reports, researching in a library, getting news, learning about
technological developments and relevant comments now takes only
a few minutes. As a result, comprehensive information collection
that used to take long years of research can now be done with a
minimum of effort.
As the Internet has overcome all obstacles to sharing
accumulated information, all people and nations can have access
to it. The ever-developing Internet technologies will have more
to offer in the future.
One point deserves a special mention here. At no time
in human history has the world witnessed such rapid development.
In particular, the twentieth century's technological developments
have been unprecedented. Only 100 years ago, no one could have imagined
the world in which we live today. Only 15 or 20 years ago, people
would have seen the Internet as a very advanced technology that
could only be attained maybe after 100 years. Each of these developments
indicates that humanity is approaching a very important time. It
appears that the Golden Age will be a glorious time when people
will benefit from all sorts of technology and thousands of blessings.
Technological Revolution in Energy
The energy age that began with the Industrial Revolution,
usually considered to designate the period of 1750-1830 in Britain,
reached a defining point with the technological developments of
the twentieth century. In the coming 50 years, the world's population
is expected to double and energy consumption to triple. Meanwhile,
according to the best estimations, available oil reserves will meet
humanity's needs for no longer than a century. Natural gas reserves,
on the other hand, will be exhausted within a few decades. These
facts have led scientists to turn their attention to cheaper and
readily available energy sources, such as the sun, wind, and water.
Energy production from non-polluting sources is the
major development of the foreseeable future. For instance, wind
power will make coastal cities, in particular, less dependent on
customary energy supplies and promote economic development by lessening
dependency on foreign supplies and thereby increasing the general
welfare. Wind power's non-abating nature and easy-accessibility
have encouraged scientists to focus on producing renewable energy
from wind.
Solar energy is another potential energy source. On
an annual basis, Earth receives an amount of solar energy that amounts
to 15,000 times our total current energy consumption. The solar
energy received over a 20-day period equals the world's total energy
reserves. Therefore, the efficient use of these resources will end
our oil dependency.
