In this paper,
I venture to explain the thesis that not only Islam and science are inseparable
from each other but also that in the present age, science is the most effective
medium for the propagation of Islam.
I invite attention to the very first
Kalimah, the faith formula, converting an individual into a Muslim. It is a
statement which inculcates a scientific attitude in its believer. According to
Iqbal the first part of the formula prevents deification of natural phenomena
whereas the second part, by implications of the finality of prophethood, makes
it impossible for any person after the Holy Prophet (sws) to claim
unquestionable authority on the basis of inner experience.
In Islam therefore, the very first taste of Imān inculcates a critical spirit
which can truly be named as the scientific attitude of mind generating science
and promoting its development.
The Holy Qur’ān claims itself to be a
book of visions.
The visions that it bestows on man train his mind on such lines that he
automatically adopts scientific method in all domains of knowledge. The most
distinguishing feature of religious experience in Islam is that it includes the
scientific method of inquiry into the natural phenomena as an indispensible
means of coming closer to Allah.
No wonder therefore that subject analysis of the Holy Qur’ān reveals that no
less then one ninth verses of the entire Holy Book comprises exhortations for
the observation of physical phenomenon and contemplate on them in search for
Signs of Allah which are essential for His true appreciation. By neglecting
science, we deprive ourselves from a sizeable portion of Qur’ānic guidance and
distort our vision of the Ultimate Reality. According to the world view of the
Holy Qur’ān, this universe in not Māyah, a mirage or a dream but is a reality.
As a creation of Allah Almighty, it is a reality which has a purpose behind it.
By observing, perceiving and contemplating on the creation of the heavens and
the earth, men of faith inevitably come to the conclusion that this creation
cannot be without a purpose.
Man has to live in this world for a fixed duration and get his subsistence from
it.
This universe is replete with tangible and intangible Bounties and Blessings of
Allah which sustain and support man’s life on the planet.
He is the vicegerent of Allah on this earth and all the things of the world have
been subdued for him.
He has been vested with powers over them and by their judicious use can reshape
this world according to his plans and wishes. The world is capable of
melioration and improvement.
This worldview of Islam gave birth to
modern science. Muslims in their glorious period of history raised science to
great heights. Contribution of the Muslims to modern science has been applauded
by historians of science and scholars like Sarton and Briffalt, who paid rich
tributes to Islam on this account. I quote here a passage from Encyclopaedia
Britannica:
Islamic culture is most relevant to
European Science. Not only is the religion itself closely related to Judaism and
Christianity, but there was active cultural contact between Arabic speaking
lands and Latin Europe at crucial periods. Ironically, the great age of Islam
coincided with the low point of culture in Western Europe. Conquests by the
prophet’s followers began in the 7th century AD and by the 10th century AD,
Arabic was the literate language of nations stretching from Persia to Spain.
Arabic conquerors generally brought peace and prosperity to the countries where
they settled. For example, the library of Cordova in Spain apparently had more
than 50,000 books at a time, when scarcely 5,000 survived north of the Pyrenees.
Also, the Muslims were tolerant of the other monotheistic faith so that the Jews
rose to high positions in Islamic lands at a time when they were scarcely
permitted survival in Europe. Drawing on the traditions of Greek science through
Christian scholars of Syria, the early Arabic rulers of Baghdad in the 9th
century had the bulk of the corpus of Greek science, translated, and, soon
after, their own scholars advanced further, particularly in Mathematics,
Astronomy, Optics, Chemistry, and Medicine. The social base of science, however,
was thin. Hence no single centre of scientific culture flourished for more than
a century, and, although materials were transmitted between them, the loss of
continuity prevented a sustained development. Also, the style of scholarship was
for a single man to try to encompass the whole world of learning for the
achievement of secular wisdom, perhaps as a way towards illumination. The very
greatest man could make creative advances, but cooperative scholarship, the
necessary prerequisite for making lesser men effective, was rare.
All great historians of science agree
that it was Islam that made the growth of science in Europe possible. The Church
had imposed all types of restrictions on the freedom of expression. Stories of
prosecution and trial of scientists like Galileo are recorded in the pages of
history which depict a painful picture of those times. The long drawn conflict
between church and science ultimately resulted in the parting of their ways.
Science in the west, therefore, could never assume the role of being the
God-revealing source of knowledge. Its sphere of activity was drastically
reduced to the study of profane phenomena of a mundane world in a secular
manner.
No doubt the Western scientists also
claim that the purpose of science is the pursuit of truth but the kind of truths
it discovers are never integrated with or referred to the God of religion as the
Absolute Truth. For them the God operating in the realm of nature is quite
different from the God of religion giving moral commandments. They even hesitate
to designate the ultimate reality of science as God and prefer to name it as
Nature, which is impersonal by its characteristics but acts like a Person.
Coming to this impasse, the secular scientists are lost in a blind alley of
obscure terminology. The Holy Qur’ān coins a similitude for a particular social
category of people which is aptly applicable to them:
Their similitude is that of a man who
kindled fire. When it lighted all around, Allah took away their light and left
them in utter darkness so they could not see.
This is precisely the state of present
day scientific community. The environment is well illuminated with day to day
scientific discoveries but all these discoveries fail to bestow that vision on
the scientists that could enable them to discern God amidst these illuminations.
Some of the top scientists of the West profess to have a firm belief in God and
have strong religious feelings too but their scientific notion of God never
conforms to their religious notion of God, which is Shirk according to the
Qur’ānic teachings of Tawhīd. As a result of this, science gets away from the
control of religion. This is why science has shifted its emphasis from the
‘pursuit of ultimate truth’ to ‘the pursuit of power’. But unbridled power
quickly turns into a brute force bringing destruction to mankind, be that in the
form of deadly weapons in times of war or environmental pollution in times of
peace.
This, then, is the most crucial issue of
modern civilization which cannot be resolved except through the concept and
principle of Tawhīd as enunciated by Qur’ān. According to the Qur’ānic principle
of Tawhīd, all scientific notions and religious notions ultimately issue into an
all-comprehensive concept of Almighty Allah Who has given to man a complete code
of moral values which govern all aspects of his life.
The introduction of this concept will
bring science to the fold of religion and morality and protect it from going
astray. And this is the only way to save the present day scientific
civilization. The call of Qur’ān to the people of Book for coming to common
terms is precisely relevant to resolving the crisis of the scientific
civilization:
Say: O People of the Book! Come to
common terms as between us and you that we worship none but Allah. That we
associate no partners with Him.
This call of the Holy Qur’ān is in a way
an attempt to save scientists from duality which caused Shirk ie, separation
between God of science and the God of religion and consequently severed all
relationships between moral ideals and scientific achievements. This inherent
flaw of modern civilization has placed modern man into a predicament. The pure
Tawhīd of Islam not only pulls him out of this hopeless situation but is also an
extremely attractive, valuable and important message for the present day
society. It should, therefore, be utilized for the propagation of Islam in
modern age.
Science has bestowed numerous blessings
on man by alleviating his miseries and brought him all sorts of comforts. Above
all, its role of bringing all the nations round one platform is highly laudable.
Scientists from all over the world belonging to different countries, nations,
colours and races gather at the forum of science with a sense of fraternity.
Science has thus created a small society of global brotherhood. These are
therefore favourable circumstances for the spread of Islam which aims at the
unity of mankind. From this platform the message of Islamic Tawhīd can be given
to scientists and, through them, to the whole world.
Needless to repeat that the Islamic
concept of Tawhīd is not only capable of being translated into scientific
language but, in the language of science, it becomes easily intelligible and
effectively communicable. Science, as it is said, is the great cleanser of human
spirit that makes impossible any religion but the highest. The Holy Qur’ān
claims that science will continue revealing the Signs of Allah in the realm of
matter and mind to prove the veracity of Qur’ānic statements. According to the
Holy Qur’ān Allah’s immutable laws are operative in nature and manifestations of
these operations (كلمات الله)
are innumerable which are being reflected in the phenomena of nature.
When the scientists observe, study and reflect on the these phenomena, the Signs
(آيات الله) of Allah are
revealed to them. These Signs of Allah are therefore those findings of the
science which are constantly being revalidated and improved.
These, then, are the teachings of the
Holy Qur’ān which resolve all contradictions advanced by both scientific and
religious circles as arguments for maintaining the dichotomy between science and
religion. This guidance of the Holy Qur’ān in the domain of science makes
science both a source of power as well as a source of light from Allah and thus
helps in keeping science within the bounds of the moral framework of Islam. This
is the kind of science which instills reverence, love and fear of Allah in the
minds of the scientists. And such
a vital relationship between science and Islam makes science the most effective
medium for the propagation of Islam. Blending Islam and science in this manner
can change the course of history towards a lasting peaceful and prosperous
future for mankind.
Recommendation
So much for the philosophical aspects of
Islamic Science but the crux of the problem is how to go about it? How to
practice this philosophy and from where to make a start? In this connection, I
have a few suggestions to make:
1. Our first need is to document a
philosophy of science within the framework of Islam. For this purpose we should
encourage and provide incentives to the scholars who can turn out as Muslim
philosophers of science.
2. The science policies of the Muslim
countries should be formulated within the context of Islamic philosophy of
science and priorities fixed accordingly.
3. In all scientific gatherings,
seminars and symposia one special session must always be devoted to examine the
scientific researches in the light of Islamic philosophy.
4. The philosophy of science should
constitute an integral part of the science syllabi for the teaching of science
at all levels.
5. All scientific activity ultimately
generates some kind of information which is written and published in a standard
format. This format has been designed from a purely secular angle which strictly
avoids any reference to God in scientific writings. Such a style is different
from the style of early Muslim Scientists who invariably started their writing
with adorations of Allah Almighty and gratitude for the Holy Prophet (sws).
Words uttered, written or read in the praise and remembrance
of Allah are a great power and do have practical consequences if assimilated
consciously. Like strong currents of spiritual energy, they are capable of
charging the batteries of benumbed souls and sharpening our visions to witness
the Signs of Allah during scientific reflections and contemplation over physical
phenomena. By introducing such divine words in scientific literature, we will
not only de-secularize science but will convert it into a potential source of
Islamic spiritualism.
We hope that, in due course of time,
this small change in the format will inspire our Muslim scientists to write very
apt passages on the adoration of Allah in the beginning of their scientific
dissertations by explaining their own experiences of witnessing the Signs of
Allah in their special fields of inquiry. This will be, in fact, picking up our
own scientific tradition. If this practice is taken up by all the scientists of
the Muslim world, it will stamp their work with the mark of Islamic Science and
distinguish their identity as Muslim scientists throughout the world. The great
Russian scientists like Michurin, Kalifman, never felt shy of calling themselves
as Socialist Scientists and acknowledging Marxian Philosophy as their prime
source of inspiration. Why as Muslims should we be afraid of bringing the name
of Allah in our scientific writings. In doing so, we will be only using science
as a very effective medium for the propagation of Islam.
Summary
The argument I have tried to construct
is that Muslim scientists should regard the pursuit of science as a genuine
source of religious experience and pursue it as a God-appreciating activity. The
present dichotomy of science and religion should be abandoned. In its pursuit
after Godless truth, science has no doubt bestowed power on man but its
potentiality as a God-appreciating source of knowledge has been totally ignored.
This has made it amoral, secular and atheistic. Islam can provide the solution
by its principle of Tawhīd. By using this principle, we will be only using
science as the most effective medium for the propagation of Islam in the present
day world.
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