Islam And Science

Islam is the total unconditional submission to the will of Allaah (Subhaanahu wa Ta'ala) while science is the subject arrived at through observation and experimentation. Allaah (Subhaanahu wa Ta'ala) provides strong knocks and shouts, which comes in succession one after the other: Wake up! Look around you! Think! Reflect! Ponder! There is a Creator! There is Planning. Allaah (Subhaanahu wa Ta'ala) says: reflect on the food he eats" (80: 24). And also: "Let man consider from what he is created!" (86: 5).

Also, "Do they not look at the camels, how they were created?" (88: 17). These are some of the verses, which motivate and activate a Muslim to utilize his/ her senses for research and betterment of mankind. "In the West, when science and religion are discussed, people are quite willing to mention Judaism and Christianity among religions referred to, but they hardly ever think of Islam. So many false judgments based on inaccurate ideas have indeed been made about it, that today it is very difficult to form an exact notion of the reality of Islam.

The totally erroneous statements made about Islam in the West are sometimes the result of ignorance and sometimes of systematic denigration" . "The relationship between religion and science has not always been the same in anyone place or time. It is a fact that there is no writing belonging to a monotheistic religion that condemns science. In practice however, it must be admitted that scientists have had great difficulties with the religious authorities of certain creeds. For many centuries, in the Christian world, scientific development was opposed by the authorities in question, on their own initiative and without any reference to authentic scriptures.

We already know the measures taken against those who sought to enlarge science, measures, which often made scientists go into exile to avoid being burnt at the stake, unless they recanted, change their attitude and begged for pardon. The case of Galileo is always cited in this context: he was tried for having accepted the discoveries made by Copernicus on the rotation of the earth. Galileo was condemned as a result of mistaken interpretation of the Bible, since not a single scripture could reasonably be brought against him.

In the case of Islam, the attitude towards science was generally speaking quite different. The Qur-aan while inviting us to cultivate science, itself contains many observations on natural phenomena and includes explanatory details, which are seen to be in total agreement with modern scientific data. There is no equal to this in the Judeo-Christian Revelation"

. 2.0 PURPOSE OF ISLAM:

i) To teach man of the Creator. ii) To invite mankind to Islam. iii) To bring a qualitative change in the life of the society. iv) Liberation from all man-made philosophies in life. The case of Rab'iy bin 'Amr, Hudhayfah bin Muslim and Mughiyrah bin Shu'bah (Radhiya Llahu 'anhum) before the Battle of al-Qaadisiyyah when sent to the commander in chief of the Persian army, Rustum. v) Introducing the truth for concealing it is a crime.

3.0 PURPOSE OF SCIENCE:

i) To fear, love and worship Allaah better. Q 35: 27 - 28. ii) To discover the power hidden in the gifts of nature that Allah has placed in them. If they are exploited for the benefit of mankind, the efforts are laudable. Q 2: 29.

> 4.0 IMPORTANT POINTS TO NOTE:

It should be noted that there are three important points to note by Muslims/ students of sciences. (A) Scientific Research is of Two Kinds: (i) Based Entirely on Observations: No conflict with the Qur-aan and the Sunnah. This has always verified the Qur-aan and the Sunnah. Let us give an example: Allaah (Subhanahu wa Ta'ala) says: "Indeed We have created man from an extract of clay. Then placed him as a drop of semen in a firm resting place, then changed the semen into an 'alaqah, then We made the 'alaqah into a mudhghah, then We made out of the mudhghah bones, then clothed the bones with flesh, and then We brought him forth as quite a different creature - so blessed is Allah, the best of all creators" (23: 12 - 14).

Literally, the word 'alaqah has three meanings: First, it means something that clings/ suspended thing/ attached to something else. This refers to the process of clinging, attachment and implantation of the blastocyt (embryo) in the compact layer of endometrium. Secondly, leech or blood-sucker. We find similarity of the two, as the embryo at this stage derives nourishment from the blood of the mother; the leech feeds on the blood of others . The human embryo clings to the endometrium of the uterus, in the same way a leech clings to the skin. Thirdly, blood clot. We find that the external appearance of the embryo and its sacs in this stage is similar to the blood clot. This is due to relatively large amounts of blood present in the embryo during this stage .

The word mudhghah means chewed substance or chewed lump. If one looks at a human embryo at this stage and compares it with a chewed lump or gum, they look similar. This is because of the somites at the back of the embryo that somewhat resembles teeth marks in a chewed substance . The bone formation precedes muscles. This is true both in the vertebral column and in the limb bones. This is in accordance with embryological development. Professor Emeritus Keith L. Moore is one of the world's most prominent scientists in the fields of anatomy and embryology and is the author of the book entitled The Developing Human, which has been translated into eight languages.

This book is a scientific reference work and was chosen by a special committee in the United States as the best book authored by one person. In 1981, during the 7th Medical Conference in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, Professor Moore said: "It has been a great pleasure for me to help clarify statements in the Qur'an about human development. It is clear to me that these statements must have come to Muhammad from God, because almost all of this knowledge was not discovered until many centuries later.

This proves to me that Muhammad must have been a messenger of God" . Consequently, Professor Moore was asked the following question: "Does this mean that you believe that the Qur'an is the word of God?" He replied: "I find no difficulty in accepting this". He also proposed that a new system classification could be developed using the terms mentioned in the Qur-aan and Sunnah. The proposed system is simple, comprehensive, and conforms with present embryological knowledge.

Dr. T. V. N. Persaud is a well-known professor of Anatomy, Pediatrics and Child Health, of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the University of Manitoba, Canada. When he was asked about the scientific miracles in the Qur-aan, which he has researched, he said: "It seems to me that Muhammad was a very ordinary man who was illiterate. You have someone illiterate making profound pronouncements and statements and that are amazingly accurate about scientific nature.

And I personally can't see how this could be a mere chance. There are too many accuracies and, like Dr. Moore, I have no difficulty in my mind that this is a divine inspiration or revelation, which led him to these statements". Prof. Tejatat Tejasen is the chairman of the Department of Anatomy at Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand. During the 8th Saudi Arabia Medical Conference in Riyadh. The professor stood up and said: "During the last 3 years, I became interested in the Qur'an. …From my study and what I have learnt from this conference, I believe that everything that has been recorded in the Qur'an 1400 years ago must be the truth that can be proved by scientific means.

Since the Prophet could neither read nor write, Muhammad must be a Messenger who relayed this truth, which was revealed to him as enlightenment by the one who is eligible as the Creator. This Creator must be God. Therefore, I think this is the time to say La ilaaha illa Allaahu Muhammadan Rasulullaah. …I have gained not only from the scientific and religious point of view but also the great chance of meeting many well-known scientists and making many new friends among the participants. The most precious thing of all that I have gained by coming to this place is La ilaaha illa Allaahu Muhammadan Rasulullaah, and to have become a Muslim" .

If it happens that it has not verified these two sources then

(a) We have not understood the injunction of the sources: Let e give an example. Honey is a cure for many diseases. It assists in the recovery of patients with digestive problems. Abu Sa'iyd al-Khudriy (Radhiya Llaahu 'anhu) said that a man came to the Prophet (Swalla Llaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) and told him that his brother's bowels were loose. Allaah's Messenger (Swalla Llaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said to him to give his brother honey to drink. He did so and then returned and said: "I gave him to drink, but it has only made his bowels loose". This he said twice and when he came the third time and was told by the Prophet (Swalla Llaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) to give him honey to drink, he said:

"I have done so, but it has only increased the looseness". Allaah's Messenger (Swalla Llaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) replied: "Allaah has spoken the truth and your brother's bowel has lied". He again gave his brother honey to drink and the latter recovered (al-Bukhaariy and Muslim). We are now aware that every medication has a dose and full recovery will occur only when the dose is finished. Example when a person is having malaria and is given the dose of either chloroquine (10/12), fansidar (3), etc he/ she should take the full dose.

(b) The research has not been completed: Maurice Bucaille cites a Hadiyth of the fly: "If a fly falls into a vessel of anyone of you, let him dip all of it into the vessel and then throw it away, for in one of its wings there is a disease and in the other there is an antidote" . Bucaille calls this Hadiyth spurious, which has been related by al-Bukhaariy. This judgment was due to the fact that no research was done when the book was being published. But it was later conclusively found by researchers that that was the case.

(c) The word(s) concerned in the Qur-aan or the Sunnah has more than one meaning. (ii) Scientific Assumptions not based on sufficient Knowledge or based on Conjecture: Scientists have not arrived at certainty about them. These assumptions at times conflict with the Qur-aan and/ or the Sunnah. In such cases as a Muslim, one should unreservedly believe in the Qur-aan and authentic Ahadith. An example in this point is the theory of evolution. Several scientists have openly discredited the theory. Sir Arthur Keith (1866 - 1955) said in 1953: "Evolution was unproved and unprovable and that we believed in it because the only alternative wa special creation and that was unthinkable". George Herbert Blount said: "When one applies the law of chance to the probability of an event occurring in nature, such as the formation of a single protein molecule from the elements, even if we allow 3 billion years for the age of the earth or more, there isn't enough time for the event to occur" .

(B) A Scientific Theory is not a Conclusive Evidence of the Truth: Science can never replace religion as written by Freud (a renowned Jewish psychologist). He said: "Human life passed into three distinctive psychological phases: superstition, religion and science. Now being the era of science religion is antiquated" . Thus, the protagonists of science upholds it as true, everything else as trash. But the truth of the matter is that in the light of new observations and experiments, all man-made theories, which were formulated a few centuries ago are being re-scrutinized and many in the process are being discarded.

Examples are: " The knowledge, which is presently known on the issue of the atom has passed on several stages of development. Brandtock and Hanson writes: - 1808 John Dalton developed the idea of a solid atom. - 1897 Sir J. J. Thomson described atoms as solid spheres with electrons. - 1909 R. Millikan determined the charge of a single electron. - 1913 Lord Rutherford, an atom has a positively charged nucleus and a large are of empty space around the nucleus with electrons. - 1925 Louis Victor de Brogie, electrons are regarded as waves. - 1932 Sir James Chadwick discovered the neutron without charge. - Present Day Recent work has led to the discovery of many new particles .

" Atoms were first defined as small particles, which could not be broken down any further . Later (now) it is being defined as the smallest particle of an element that can retain the chemical properties of that element . J. W. N. Sullivan points out that: "It is evident, even from this brief survey of scientific ideas, that a true scientific theory merely means a successful working hypothesis.

It is highly probable that all scientific theories are wrong. Those that we accept are verifiable within our present limits of observation. Truth then, in science is a pragmatic affair" . (C) Anti-Islamic Forces: Anti-Islamic forces are at work in using some of the theories to spread immoralities among communities and serve their interests. The protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, which was prepared by 70 elders and determines the politics of global Zionism writes: "We must aim at and try to create moral bankruptcy so that our suzerainty maybe established all over the world.

Freud is ours, and he shall go on hustling sexual relations openly to the public view so that no sanctities survives and people maybe left only with the sexual hunger and its gratification. This is the time when moral bankruptcy would have been achieved" . In another protocol it says of Karl Marx and Darwin: "We do not suppose for a moment that these statements are empty words; think carefully of the success we arranged for Darwinism, Marxism and Nietzscheism. We will give their thought ample publicity and the degeneration created by their various disciplines in non-Jewish thought, is obvious enough" (II - 3).

5.0 CONCLUSION:

Allaah (Subhanahu wa Ta'ala) says: "Soon will We show them Our Signs in the (furthest) regions (of the earth) and in their own souls until it becomes manifest to them that this is the Truth. Is it not enough that your Rabb does witness all things?" (41: 53). Indeed, Allaah (Subhanahu wa Ta'ala) has shown His signs in our own selves in form of the systems - skeletal, muscular, endocrinal, digestive, excretory, blood circulatory, respiratory, procreative, lymphatic, nervous and the senses of tasting, smelling, hearing and seeing.

Example is of blood glucose regulation, which is maintained at optimal range of 80 - 120mg% unless due to proteins (hormone and enzymes) deficiency and imbalance. If blood sugar is below normal several conditions corrects this: Epinephrine (adrenaline), Norepinephrine, glucagons accelerates glycogenolysis (breakdown of liver glycogen to glucose), Glucocorticoids (corticosterone and cortisol) increases gluconeogenesis from amino acids and liver and muscle phosphorylases catabolises glycogen to glucose.

In case of increase in blood sugar above normal: Insulin increases utilization of sugar by most tissues, female sex hormones (estrone and estradiol) ameliorate the diabetic state, liver glucokinase, hexokinase and the enzymatic action of the glycolytic pathway and the Krebs cycle decreases the level. Thus, Allaah (Subhanahu wa Ta'ala) says: "In fact, only those among His servants who possess knowledge fear Allah; surely Allah is All-Mighty, All-Forgiving" (35: 28).

We should try our maximum to Islamize our conception of science and should not fall under the summarized Muslim education system as was once said by Moshe Dayan: "The Arabs (Muslims) do not study (read) … And when they study, they do not understand … And when they understand, they do not act (implement)".