This audio is brought to you by MuslimCentral.com

The butterfly effect is actually something to do with mathematics, to say part of, believe it or not, chaos theory.

And what it tells us is that small causes can have large effects.

And the butterfly effect was first propounded back in the 1960s, and the story is actually pretty interesting.

When computers were first introduced to attempt to predict weather changes based on initial data conditions,

one of the programmers who was testing out a model forgot to add a .001 value to one of the initial inputs about whether it was a barometer pressure or something.

He made a mistake at the fifth digit level, and he allowed the computer to churn out predictions for the next few weeks.

Then when he realized his error, he went back and he put in the right numbers and he did the same calculations.

And he was shocked to see the difference at a fifth degree decimal was so markedly different that he said this couldn't be possible.

There must be something wrong. So he went back and he did both of the experiments and he realized that no, there is nothing wrong.

In fact, if you begin with a change of literally 0.001, then the impact over the next few weeks will be so different that you're going to come to two totally radically different.

And it was then called the butterfly effect to be a little bit more melodramatic because they tried to say that if the tip of the wing of a butterfly in Peru for example moved eventually over the course of the next few months, it might potentially cause a tidal wave in Malaysia.

If a moth flew in a certain direction, eventually a tornado would happen in Texas.

Now, they're being a little bit exaggerated here because it's not that the butterflies wing caused the tsunami but put together with a million other factors if the butterfly had turned left rather than right.

And all likelihood the tsunami might not have happened.

The point is it's one of a lot of factors that sets into motion events that will eventually culminate very differently if those initial motions were not set into event.

Why might beginning an Islamic lecture with something of chaos theory and mathematics?

Well, because we as Muslims, we actually have no problems affirming this concept as long as we add the caveat that with the permission of Allah these changes can occur.

And the notion of the butterfly effect, the concept of it is actually something that gives us hope in this very chaotic world.

It gives us meaning, it empowers us and it makes us feel that you know what?

I can, insha'Allah, to Allah, cause a change whose impact is going to be far greater than even what I myself can see.

The smallest good deed, the smallest change that I have in myself can bring about the most amazing and profound effects.

...