Islam and Science

From the Pens of our Predecessors

Islam and Science

Sayyid Aḥmad SaꜤīd Kāẓimī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه

It is our belief that Allah is the Creator of the universe. It is He whose help is sought. He causes life and death, and He is the All-Powerful. اِنَّ اللّٰهَ عَلٰى كُلِّ شَیْءٍ قَدِیْرٌ.[1]

He is the ultimate Bestower; all bestowals in the universe originate from Him. He is the only source of every bestowal and no action of His is devoid of wisdom; فِعْلُ الْحَکِیْمِ لَایَخْلُوْ عَنِ الْحِکْمَۃِ.[2]

He has created certain means and ways to implement His bestowals and authority. This should not lead one to believe He is incapable without them. It is we who are incapable of receiving His bestowals without an intermediary. For example, if rain did not fall on the Earth, there would be no greens. Although it is Allah who causes greenery to sprout forth, He made water, seeds, and preparation of the land a means for this.

Is Allah in need of these means? Not in the slightest! He is independent and is free of dependency. To fulfil a certain wisdom, He made water a means of growing grains.

Likewise, He is the one who gives death, yet He states: تَتَوَفّٰىهُمُ الْمَلٰٓىٕكَة - Those (disbelievers) whose souls are taken by the angels.[3]

Is Allah dependent (on angels) to extract these souls? Not at all. Rather, being the All-Wise, He implements His divine wisdom. It is not necessary that we understand this wisdom, but those with knowledge do, to some degree.

The meaning of believing in Allah is that when one does not understand something, they leave it to Allah. This does not mean that one accepts only what they understand and totally leave that they do not. Otherwise, this will lead one fall prey to the whims of the carnal-self (nafs) and will fall under اِنْ یَّتَّبِعُوْنَ اِلَّا الظَّنَّ. We must accept that we understand and that we do not. The words of Allah and His Messenger صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم will not be empty of wisdom.

If a person’s senses are mistaken, they will fall into error. For example, a person with vision issues person sees double. A friend tells him to bring a mirror on top of the table in the other room, but the person sees two mirrors instead. He returns empty-handed and asks, “Which mirror should I bring?” The friend replies, “There is only one”, but the person does not accept this. The friend then says he should break one mirror and bring the other. When he breaks one mirror, the other disappears, as there was only one to begin with. It was the person’s senses that were wrong, causing him to fall into error.

The one who sees claims that he is correct, but the one who placed the viewed object there knows whether there is one or two. It is only Allah who knows every wisdom, and by His bestowal and permission, His chosen servants are granted knowledge in this regard.

There is a lot of talk nowadays of science overcoming religion, but I say that science is a world of physical senses, whereas religion transcends this. For example, if a person dies and is buried, these are things pertaining to physical senses. After his burial, however, what is happening with the deceased now? This is the focus of religion; where physical senses come to an end, religion begins at that point.

The Prophet Muhammad صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم stated:

اَلْقَبْرُ روْضَۃٌ مِّنْ رِیَاضِ الْجَنَّۃِ اَوْحُفْرَۃِ مِّنْ حُفَر ِالنَّار

The grave is either a garden from the gardens of Paradise or a pit from the pits of the Fire.[4]

This means that if a person died as believer, they would enter Paradise. If not, they will go to Hell, even if their grave looks outwardly at ease. Even if it is adorned, embellished, and covered in flowers, he is still in the Fire. The focus of science different to that of Islam. The example of this is like a man travelling East and another West. Due to the direction being different, there is no overlap. Similarly, Islam rises and elevates whilst science falls and descends. Neither is there any overlap nor can science rival Islam.

Additionally, if our circumstances take a turn for the worse, our senses also begin to fail. If we give something sweet to a healthy individual, he will taste its sweetness, but if we give the same item to a person suffering from biliary reflux, he will perceive it as bitter as his senses are mistaken. There is nothing wrong with the sweet thing here. Similarly, if there is an issue with one’s intellect, they will arrive at a false conclusion.

There being a discrepancy in a person’s beliefs is evidence of shortcomings in his intellect. For example, my voice not reaching you is a proof of there being a fault with the speaker, as if there were no issue with this, there would be no problem in the sound spreading. If you desire the truth, accept the words which sprung forth from the tongue of the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم! By Allah, he sees and hears that which we cannot, just as he revealed:

اِنِّیْ اَرٰی مَالَا تَرَوْنَ وَاَسْمَعُ مَالَا تَسْمَعُوْنَ

Indeed, I see that you do not see and hear that you do not hear.

O those who follow their own intellects! Do you think that you have gone far? I say with firm belief that we have instead taken a step towards death and destruction. May Allah save us from such “progress” which has taken us to the brink of ruin. Islam gives us life, so if we turn ourselves towards the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم, we will be successful. Otherwise, we will incur immense lose.

Allah declares:

وَ مَاۤ اٰتٰىكُمُ الرَّسُوْلُ فَخُذُوْهُۗ-وَ مَا نَهٰىكُمْ عَنْهُ فَانْتَهُوْاۚ-

Whatever the Messenger grants you, take it, and whatever he forbids, refrain from it,[5]

Whatever we receive is given to us by Allah through the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم.

اَطِیْعُوا اللّٰهَ وَ اَطِیْعُوا الرَّسُوْلَ

Obey Allah and obey His Messenger.[6]

What do we know about pleasing Allah and ways in which we can do this? He tells us to please His beloved صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم, after which He will be pleased with you. So, you may carry out as much worship as you wish, but if the beloved is not happy, then Allah will also be displeased. In fact, Allah told us to go to His beloved and declared we need him. Just as the seeds in the Earth require water to grow, we require ears to hear, eyes to see, and a brain to think. Similarly, Allah has made His beloved صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم the means for us to attain His mercy.

وَ مَاۤ اَرْسَلْنٰكَ اِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِّلْعٰلَمِیْنَ(۱۰۷)

And We sent you not but as mercy for all the worlds.[7]

Allah is Independently Merciful. He declared for his beloved to take what He bestows, and for us to take what His beloved grants. This is what وَاللّٰہُ یُعْطِیْ وَاَنَا قَاسِمٌ entails. Allah is free from all needs. As for us, for whom he appointed His Prophet as a means, we need a wasīla.  

Rāḥim is a verbal noun, and the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم is rāḥim for the entire universe. This is a sword of Islam’s truthfulness and the inimitability (iꜤjāz) of Allah’s Speech, the One who has ordered all nations to accept Islam.

Those who insult the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم are flawed in their view regarding him. When they are wrong in their views regarding Allah’s Messenger صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم, how can they then harbour correct beliefs regarding Allah?