From: gt7242a@prism.gatech.edu (KHAN,RAHEEL)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian,soc.religion.islam
Subject: Re: Islam and Science (an explanation)
Date: 16 Nov 92 22:15:43 GMT
Followup-To: soc.culture.indian
Organization: Georgia Institute of Technology



              In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Benificent


                       RELIGION VS SCIENCE: A SURVEY
                       -----------------------------


I have been following the on going debate on SCP about the imcompatability of 
relgion and science. The debate in many ways is not a new one, but rather, it
is a debate which is dates back to the time when Islam was first revealed to
man.  It is not the first time that man has openly denied religion, and it is 
certainly not the first time Islam has been falsely accused of being regressive
or antiquated.

At the heart of the debate is a deeper issue.  The issue infact is of man's
rebellion against his Creator, of his concieted proclamation of sufficiency and
independence from God.  

Surat-ul-'Alaq (The Clot), (which includes the first Revelation to the prophet
Muhammad(SAW)) says:

     "Read: In the name of thy Lord who creatheth,
      Createth man from a clot.
      Read: And thy Lord is the Most Bounteous,
      Who teacheth by the pen,
      Teacheth man that which he knew not.
      Nay, but verily man is rebellious
      That he thinketh himself independent!
      Lo! unto thy Lord is the return."

                                (Surah 'Alaq: 1 - 7)

This in essence outlines Islam's position towards science.  Science is a tool
for acquiring knowledge, given to man by his Master, Allah (SWT). Another of
his innumerable bounties.  Sceince was given to man so that he could see the
signs of his Creator and submit his will to the Allah, and thus fulfill the 
aim of his creation.  Islam does not discourage knowledge, but rather encourages
it , as is apparent from the following verses:  

   "Say: Behold what is in the heavens and the earth! But revelations and 
    warnings avail not folk who will not believe"
                                                  (Yunus: 101)

   "And in the Earth are portents (signs) for those whose faith is sure,  
    And also in yourselves.  Can you then not see?"
                                                  (Zariyat: 101)

   "Soon will We show then 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."
                                                   (Fussilat: 53)

Islam, unlike Medieval Christianity, encourages man to seek, to learn, so 
that he may be better able to appreaciate the signs of his Lord.  The true
believer will only be benifitted from the signs of Providence manifest in 
nature, and within himself.  

The question that arises is that what is Islam's position towards scienfic 
knowledge?  Does it acknowledge scientific "facts" even if they are in 
conflict with its very basic beliefs?  Does it at least allow such diagreement
to exist?  Is the way of acquiring knowledge within the prescribed limits of
Islam (if such limits exist!) scientific, or is it at least compatable with 
the scientific method?

In order to answer this super-question one must examine the very basics of
human understanding and try to define parameters within which such knowledge
is reliable.  That man's knowledge (individual and collective) is finite 
is an undisputed fact.  Our physical senses are tools with which we acquire
information about our surroundings, our reasoning is a tool with which 
we piece together this information into a gossimer of reality (or, more
accurately, what we percieve to be reality.  Our knowledge(of reality) is
always subject to change, it is undergoing constant review in light of the new
information we amass and is being constantly transformed by experience.
The elements of experience which we can factor out, or in other
words,  elements of our reality that we can isolate as the residue
of experience, achieve fact-hood in our eyes.  Every one knows
that an apple falls towards the ground, or touching a fire can burn our hand
and any claim to the contrary is met with skepticism, especially in the  
absence of convincing evidence.

The sum total of the experiences of men becomes something almost sacrosanct, 
rebellion agianst which maybe tolerated but will be deemed foolish.  Such facts
form postulates upon which a more comprehensive view of reality can be based.
For example, one of the fundamental postulates of Euclidean Geometry is that
two parallel lines meet at infinity. 

Reality, however, has infinite dimensions, and our senses and our reasoning
are admittedly finite.  This is why two seemignly contradictory observations
may infact be correct.  What we know at a given time constitutes our view of 
reality, but does not encompass reality in its entirety. An analogy that 
may help clarify the relation ship between our view of reality and Reality is
that of the projection of a three dimensional object onto a planar surface.  
Each projection of the object reveals some information about it, but it takes
an infinite number of such projections to fully describe the object.
Similarly, another analogy which can be drawn is that of two  
blindmen trying to describe an elephant by touching it:  One touches its
tail, and claims that an elephant is long and round with a hairy head, while
the other who is touching the elephant's ear insists that it is flat, wrinkled
and very soft.  They are both right but neigther is completely right.

Similarly, the our perception of reality is made up of shadows of Reality.
We can never encompass it completely.  The short comings of science must be 
accepted and its value in the determination of the absolute truth must not 
be over-estimated.  Relativity, Quantum Physics, the Theory of Evolution are
all tranistory in nature.  Tommorrow, some other, "more comprehensive" theory
will replace them.  

Instead of proceeding to ramble on about the merits of science let me quote
a few passages from Muhammad Qutab's book, "Islam: the misunderstood religion":

   "Islam uses a very simple terminology.  Its teachings are very easy to
    understand, perceive and believe in.  It invites man to make use of 
    the faculties given to him and try to acquire the fullest possible 
    understanding of life surrounding him.  It does not as such admit of
    any inborn hositility between reason and religon or, for that  matter,
    between science and relgion.  It does not force man to believe in  silly
    stuff as a prior condition to his belief in God.  Nor does it compel 
    him to renounce his God so as to be able to admit of scientific facts.
    Not content with this, Islam impresses upon man in clear and unequivocal
    terms that it is God and God alone Who has in His immense mercy
    subjected all the things on this earth to man, and that all the facts 
    that are discovered by scientific exploration or the material benefits 
    that flow therefrom to man, are in fact a blessing of God, for which
    man should offer his thanks to God, and strive hard so as to become
    a worthy slave of so Merciful and Beneficent a Master. Thus Islam
    holds knowledge and science as a part of faith rather than regard    
    these as an evil intrinisically opposed to genuine belief in God."

   "Science is a powerful instrument to help us increase our knowledge of 
    things around us.  As such it has an impressive record of achievements
    to its credit.  All these brilliant achievements were, however, vitiated
    by on fatal mistake of the westerners:  they installed science as 
    supreme God, declaring that it alone had the right to claim the 
    adoration and submission of man unto it.  Thus they denied themselves
    all means of acquiring knowledge save that recognized by empirical 
    sciences which let humanity wander farther away than bring it nearer
    to its real objective or destination.  Consequently, the otherwise
    vastly immense range of human endeavor and progress shrunk small with
    limitations such as all empirical sciences entail....."

   "The protagonists of science also claim that science alone can introduce
    man to the secrets of this universe and life:  hence, only that which
    is upheld by science is true; the rest is trash!  But while making such
    a statement they overlook the fact that science with all its brilliant
    and impressive record is still in its infancy and ever hesitant to 
    commit itself as regards the veracity or supposititiousness of many 
    things for the simple reason that it cannot penentrate deep into the 
    heart of reality beyond effecting a mere superfluous survey of it.  But
    still its votaries clamour and tell us with a very authouritative air
    that there is no such thing as  a human soul in existence...."

   "Such then is the 'enlightened ignorance' man suffers from today, which
    shows how desperately he stands in need of Islam to blow away these 
    'scientific cobwebs' of today as well as the imbecilities inheritied 
    from a remote past.  Idol-worship was the older form wherein 
    human folly found expression:  the cult of science-worship is its 
    latest version. To liberate human reason and spirit, both of these
    needs must be shaken off.  It is in this persepective that Islam 
    emerges as the only hope for humanity, for it alone can restore 
    peace between religion and science, bring back once more the tranquillity
    and concord to this distressed world of today that has lost them through 
    the perverted attitude towards life of the dominant West, forestalling
    an irreconcilable antgonism between man's reason and intuition, between
    his desire for knowledge and his craving for God."

So it is not science or knowledge that Islam opposes.  It is the diefication
of science that it rejects.  The world view of the Modern West, which has
its foundation in the "scientific" way of thinking, lacks, in the words of 
Ali Alija Izetbegovic, "humanity".  Man has become a sophisticated, soul-less
beast which evolved from the basest elements through continued random 
chemical interaction.  He has neither any capacity of good, nor any desire
thereof.  

In spite of its advances, science fails in presenting a unified picture of 
the reality.  It takes more belief to believe in science than it does to 
believe in God.  Lets assume, that form a scientific point of view,
the existence of God cannot be proven.  That only means two things:  either
there is God, or there is no God. Lets assume that there is no God.  Then
we are left with a whole spectrum of unexplicable and disjoint observations
which can never be explained by science.  What was there before the universe
came int being by itself?  How and why did it come into being?  The very
existence of the universe, the existence of natural laws, the existence of
air and water, the existence of life and the our own existence can not be
explained by science alone.  The answers to such questions are beyond the 
scope of scientific knowledge.  In Islam, given the fundamental beliefs, 
of which the most fundamental is the existence of God, every thing else
makes perfect sense!  There is nothing that is contrary to logic or that 
you have to brush aside on  blind faith.   

As regards to the futile attempts of science in explaining (all) Reality the 
Quran says:

   "(O man), follow not that whereof you have no knowledge.  Lo! the 
    hearing and the sight and the heart--of each of these it will be
    asked (on the day of Judgement)"
                                              (Al-Asra: 36)

   "Say: Is there of your partners(whom you ascribe unto Allah) one that
    leadeth you to the truth?  Say: Allah leadeth to the Truth.  Is He
    Who leadeth to the truth more deserving that He should be followed,
    of he who findeth not the way unless he (himself) be guieded?  What
    aileth ye?  How judge ye?
  
    Most of them follow naught but conjecture.  Assuredly conjecture can
    by no means take the place of truth.  Lo!  Allah is Aware of what they
    do.

    And this Qur'an is not such as could ever be invented in despite of
    Allah;  but it is a confirmation of that which was before it and an
    exposition of that which is decreed for mankind--Therein is no doubt
    ----from the Lord of the Worlds."
                                              (Yunus: 35-37)

The source for the ultimate truth can only be the One who created the
earth and the heavens and all that lies between them. The ability to 
gather knowledge is only one of his countless bounties, nothing more!
Do we think that if we have recognized the existence of the very laws
that he has set in motion that we are independent of him, that we can
rival his authority?                     

    "O company of jinn and men, if ye have power to penentrate (all)
     regions of the heavens and the earth, then penentrate (them)!
     Ye will never penentrate them save with (Our) sanction."
                                               (Ar-Rahman: 33)

  
I have tried to explain the Islamic position towards knowledge and science
to the best of my knowledge.  If anyone sees any mistakes please correct me.
If I have failed in being clear, I hope that someone else will be better 
able to explain this matter.  As for the final knowledge of the truth, it
rests with Allah, the most High!

I was disturbed to see the endless discussion about the alleged inconsistancy
in verses 3 and 112 of Surah Nisa, more because of the manner in which
many good Muslims were trying to "disprove" the allegations rather than 
anything else.  I will just say that I wish someone had checked one of the 
manifold explanations of the Qur'an by well known scholars.  Why do we think
that Muslims have been wasting their time, with their heads burried in the sand
for the past fourteen hundred year?   In spite of this I appreciate the 
sincere efforts of my brothers and sisters and I pray that Allah give us all
enough knowledge and guidance to judge between the truth and the falsehood. 
I will, Insha'Allah (if God wills) try to post an explanation of the verses 
according to Maulana Maududi and Imam Ibn-e-Kathir.

Wassalam

Raheel Khan



[  "Praise the name of thy Lord, the Most High,
    Who createth, then disposeth;
    Who measureth, then guideth;
    Who bringeth forth the pasturagee,
    then turneth it to russet stubble."
                                      (Al-A'la: 1 - 5)
]
-- 
KHAN,RAHEEL
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332
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