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Science in terms of the Quran
Jan 25, 2008: The Holy Quran is the book of guidance. This guidance is for the whole of
humankind and covers all activities of human life. Science is an important human
activity and is an essential one for the progress of human
civilisation.
The Quran is not a book of science as such and hence one
cannot hope to find all the principles of science embedded in it; nevertheless
the Quran has its own style of dealing with the facts and principles of science.
It deals with the essence of scientific principles and makes statements about a
number of phenomena in a suggestive form hinting at the highest organising
principles. In verse 3: 191, Allah has indicated that anyone pondering over
nature will reflect: "our Lord! Not for naught hast thou created (all)
this….."
This assertion that nothing has been created for nothing is
actually the most fundamental article of faith to the modern ecologist who
realises that the universe has a fine-tuning and that we must not disturb it.
There are about thirty million life forms. Only five million have been studied
so far. However, many a time it has been found that man has disturbed the life
styles of some of these forms and has paid very dearly for this. We should take
all care to see that a life form survives, as its elimination may upset the
overall ecological balance of the nature. Thus the entire basis of the science
of ecology is no other than the Quranic assertion that nothing has been created
for nothing.
Another example is the Quranic reference to the order and
proportions of things. In verse 25:2 it has been stated: "It is He who created
all things and ordered them in due proportions." One would realise that the
issues of order and proportions are in fact linked to the question of survival
of living things. For example, man could not be drastically different in size
from what he is now and yet be compatible with the gravity field of earth and
other environmental factors.
Also within a given living body, the
different parts follow different proportions. In the case of plants these
proportions can be understood in the Fibonacci numbers. It is the proportions of
things that lend beauty and symmetry to an object. Thus proportion is one of the
most important aspects in the overall Grand Design of creation.
Still
another fascinating example can be found in verse 92: 2 which refers to the
creation of man from Alaq (that which clings) within the mother's womb. The
successive phases in the development of a human being from an embryonic stage to
a full-grown foetus have been mentioned in the Surah Al-Muminun. These phases
were mentioned in the Holy Quran in the seventh century when the science of
embryology was not even born. Incidentally, embryology is a very recent
discipline, developed over a period of not more than 100 years. Thus, it is
indeed amazing that the successive phases of human embryologic development as
mentioned in the Holy Quran have been discovered recently.
Allah has
asked man to ponder over His creation and development so that man can go to the
depths of biology and unveil the mysteries of science. Again, an explanation of
the whole chain of biological phenomenon in a summarised form invites man to
study medical science in all its details and also appeals to his mind to think
of Allah, Creator of all creations. The Quran has a particular style of inviting
attention to the craftsmanship in nature and, in this way, places great emphasis
on the acquisition of knowledge.
The Quran never created any bifurcation
between religion and science. Thus, talking in terms of modern perspectives of
life, one would need both religion and science. Science imparts material
knowledge, religion teaches us the ethics of using that knowledge. Religion
invites man to ponder over creation and the Creator, science provides the
language for understanding creation and it is the creation which acts as the
signature of the creator. Thus, there is no real conflict between religion and
science.
Unfortunately, men and women today are neither aware of the
emphasis the Holy Quran puts on the acquisition of knowledge nor can they relate
some of the statements in the Holy Quran to the fact of science. This lack of
awareness of the scientific indications in the Holy Quran is firstly owing to
the fact that many recite from the Quran but do not understand the meaning of
the verses due to their poor knowledge of Arabic.
These preachers do not
address the burning problems of the day like basic education, eradication of
poverty, social injustice, etc., not to speak of scientific methods dealing with
them. Thus the young generation gets a wrong impression that the culture of
science and the culture of Islam do not go together. The Quran is based on
absolute truth. "And indeed it is the book of exalted power. No falsehood can
approach it from before or behind it. It is sent down by one full of wisdom,
worthy of all praise". (XLI: 41-2). The modern researchers have to bear one
thing in mind that if a certain verse of Quran cannot be explained by the
science of today, all they can say is that at the present stage of our
scientific knowledge, that verse cannot be comprehended.
Further advances
in science would probably shed some more light on the verses. The delightful
experience is that as man dives deeper into the secrets of matters and gains
more and more knowledge, his grasp of the message of the Quran becomes clearer
and clearer. It is an inward joy, difficult to describe which a researcher of
the Quran experiences when the meanings of the text enlarges even as his own
capacity for understanding increases.
It was the practice of science
which enables the early Muslims to carry the torch of learning and that's why
they led other nations. And it is the science again which if properly practised
according to ethics of the Quran, can be used as an instrument of change in the
Muslim society.
Thus in order to convince the Muslim youth that there is
no conflict between science and the Quran and also that the deeper scientific
understanding of nature, can lead to a deeper appreciation of the wisdom and
powers of the Creator, it is essential that the scientific indications in the
Holy Quran are understood and explained to the uninitiated.
By Bilal Ahmed Malik (Dawn)
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| Education News | | Updated: 24 May, 2012 |
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