Dr Abdus Salam, Science, the Big Bang Theory of Creation, and the Quran
By
Naseer Ahmed, New Age Islam
3 June 2022
This is a
supplement to my article, “Should
Science And Religion Be Kept Apart?” In that article, I had quoted Dr Salam as
follows:
Dr Salam
was sitting with his scientist friends among whom were those who had shared the
Nobel prize with him and one of them was curious to know more about the verses
in the Quran that say that the Universe came about the way the Big Bang theory
says it did. The following is his verbatim response:
“There is a
verse that says, We have created everything living out of water. There are
words about heaven and earth were united together and We spilt them apart. A
man who believes in the big bang will perhaps read the Big Bang. I do not. I do
not believe that the Big Bang may last forever by our scientific thinking. It
would be absolutely stupid to connect the science of today to what is essentially
allegorical, religious, spiritual experience which I think is a totally
different dimension”
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Also Read: Islam Does Not Inhibit Science: Islamic Culture Has Produced Many
First-Rate Scientists Who Were Also Devout In Their Religious Observances
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Mohammad Abdus Salam was a Pakistani theoretical
physicist and a Nobel Prize laureate
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What
Salam Said Raises Two Disturbing Questions
1. Did Salam really have misgivings about
the correctness and therefore the durability of the Big Bang theory? I doubt
it. It is only a rhetorical argument, I
think.
2. The other question that bothered me was
why did a great man like Salam who was a devout Muslim, lack the confidence to
respond to his friends with equanimity, “Yes, the description in the Quran on
the creation of the Universe coincides with the scientific thinking on the
subject today. Isn’t that amazing?” He was however apologetic and dismissive
when there was nothing to be ashamed of and everything to be proud of.
Dr Abdus
Salam is an iconic person for Muslim students. His life and extraordinary
achievements are a source of inspiration to many. It is therefore important to
understand Dr Salam’s reasons for what he said as those words have the
potential to have far-reaching effects on young minds. The exploration will
also help us to better understand his relationship with Science and Religion.
Salam’s
Love for the Quran
Salam
listened to a recitation of the Quran by Qari Basit every day and said that
doing so “opened up his heart”. His Nobel Prize acceptance speech began with an
apt quotation from the Quran. He had often said that the Quran was his
inspiration. The following are the exact words he spoke “If you’re a particle
physicist you would like to have just one fundamental force and not four.
That’s the real unity between the forces. If you’re a Muslim particle physicist
of course you will believe in this very, very strongly because unity is an idea
which is very attractive to you culturally. I would never have started to work
on the subject if I was not a Muslim.”
Quranic
Verses on Creation of the Universe
The Quranic
verses about the creation of the Universe are as follows:
(21:30) Do not the Unbelievers see that the
heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of creation), before we
clove them asunder? We made from water every living thing. Will they not then
believe?
(51:47) AND IT IS We who have built the
universe with [Our creative] power; and, verily, it is We who are steadily
expanding it
Another
Version of Creation in the Quran
The
creation of the Universe which includes the earth takes only two days (41:9 and
12). Making the earth fit for sustaining life takes another four days (41:10)
or a total of six days. Verse 41:11
again speaks about bringing together everything before cleaving them asunder.
The big bang theory confirms what the Quran said 1400 years ago.
(41:9) Say: Is it that ye deny Him Who created
the earth in two Days? And do ye join equals with Him? He is the Lord of (all)
the Worlds.
(10) He set on the (earth), mountains standing
firm, high above it, and bestowed blessings on the earth, and measure therein
all things to give them nourishment in due proportion, in four Days, in
accordance with (the needs of) those who seek (Sustenance).
(11) Moreover He comprehended in His design the
sky, and it had been (as) smoke: He said to it and to the earth: "Come ye
together, willingly or unwillingly." They said: "We do come
(together), in willing obedience."
(12) So He completed them as seven firmaments
in two Days, and He assigned to each heaven its duty and command. And We
adorned the lower heaven with lights, and (provided it) with guard. Such is the
Decree of (Him) the Exalted in Might, Full of Knowledge.
The day
here is not our 24 hour day but a cosmic day which the Quran describes in one
context as our thousand years and in another context as our 50 thousand years.
In different contexts, a cosmic day is defined differently. The concept of
relativity of time is there bang in your face. In the context of the creation
of the Universe, the cosmic day is not defined. This could be because the
number is very large for which there was no name in the vocabulary of the 7th
century Arabs. For men of understanding, it is sufficient to know that a day
here is a cosmic day and not our 24-hour day.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Also Read: Science Should Be Separated From Religion: No Point in Proving
Changing Scientific Theories from Quran
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The
Biblical Account of Creation
Genesis 1:1 states: "In the beginning God created the heavens and
the earth."
Genesis 1:2 states: "And the earth was formless and void, and
darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving
over the surface of the waters".
Why Salam’s Argument expressing doubts about
the BB Theory Was Rhetorical
Salam
shouldn’t have had doubts about the durability of the big bang theory because
the theory is supported by theoretical physics as well as observational
astronomy, astrophysics and experimental physics.
For a very
long time, astrophysicists and cosmologists had assumed a static universe with
no beginning and no end, both in time and space. Einstein published his General
Theory of Relativity in 1915. Alexander Friedmann, a Russian scientist,
published a paper in 1922, on a range of idealized solutions including for a
contracting and expanding universe, based on the mathematics of General
Relativity. Friedmann did not pursue the possibility that one of them might
actually describe the physical universe.
In 1927 in
Belgium, unaware of Friedmann’s work, Georges Lemaître, a Belgian cosmologist
and Catholic priest, published a solution to the equations of General
Relativity, for the case of an expanding universe, in which he had derived and
explained the relation between the distance and the recession velocity of
galaxies. Lemaître realized that his solution predicted the expansion of the
real universe of galaxies that observations were only then beginning to
suggest.
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Also Read:
Science and Religion
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Hubble's
brilliant observation that the redshift of galaxies was directly proportional
to the distance of the galaxy from earth meant that things farther away from
Earth were moving away faster. In other words, the universe must be expanding.
Hubble’s finding in 1929 supported the theory of Georges Lemaître based on the
mathematics of General Relativity.
Many
astronomers at the time were uncomfortable with the idea that the universe is
expanding. Together with Hubble’s observations, Lemaître’s paper convinced the
majority of astronomers that the universe was indeed expanding, and this
revolutionized the study of cosmology. By 1930, other cosmologists, including
Eddington, Willem de Sitter, and Einstein, had concluded that the static models
of the universe they had worked on for many years were unsatisfactory.
A year
later, Lemaître explored the logical consequences of an expanding universe and
boldly proposed that it must have originated at a finite point in time. If the
universe is expanding, he reasoned, it was smaller in the past, and
extrapolation back in time should lead to an epoch when all the matter in the
universe was packed together in an extremely dense state. Appealing to the new
quantum theory of matter, Lemaître argued that the physical universe was
initially a single particle—the “primaeval atom” as he called it—which disintegrated
in an explosion, giving rise to space and time and the expansion of the
universe that continues to this day. This idea marked the birth of what we now
know as Big Bang cosmology. That the entire observable universe of galaxies
began with a bang from a very small size, however, still seemed preposterous to
many. Lemaître was the first theoretical cosmologist ever nominated in 1954 for
the Nobel Prize in Physics for his prediction of the expanding universe. He was
also nominated for the 1956 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his primeval atom
theory.
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Also Read: Unlike Most Muslim Scientists, God Speaks Same Truth in and out
of Mosques
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Lemaître’s
idea was developed further by other cosmologists, including George Gamow, to
become the modern Big Bang theory. There have been refinements to Lemaître’s
earliest description of the universe as a “primordial atom” before the Big
bang, and indeed refinements will continue, but fundamentally the theory will
hold.
According
to Einstein's theory of general relativity published in 1915, the gravitational
force is a consequence of bodies curving space around them. What caused or
causes that curving? Stephen Hawking in the 1960s theorized that as the
universe was compressed, the matter and the energy got more and more densely
concentrated, causing space to be curved until a limit or a singularity was
reached where the matter became so densely compacted, that the space became
infinitely curved. At this point of singularity, the physicist Paul Davy said,
an extremity was reached and before it, there was nothing - neither matter nor
space, nor time or energy. They came into existence at that point. That is the
Big Bang creation event.
Arno
Penzias and Robert Wilson accidentally discovered cosmic microwave background
radiation (CMBR) in 1965, which is the first and most important observational
evidence in support of the Big Bang. The CMBR, is faint cosmic background
electromagnetic radiation filling all space which is a remnant from an early
stage of the universe, immediately after the Big Bang. It provides strong evidence of the Big Bang origin
of the universe. This earned the discoverers the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physics.
You can see the interplay between theory and
observation and the number of physicists, astrophysicists and cosmologists
involved in developing the subject. The
General Theory of relativity was published in 1915, the Big Bang theory was
published in 1931, and the curvature of the space predicted by the General
Theory of Relativity finds support from the Big Bang theory and further
developments in theoretical physics that go on into the sixties. The
observational evidence of the correctness of the Big Bang theory comes
accidentally in 1965. The scientists were looking for something else. If I am
not mistaken, they were looking for communication by aliens.
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Also Read: Science Is A By-Product Of Islam But … ?
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When theory
is fully backed by observations there is no room for doubt. The theories may
get refined. For example, Newton’s laws are backed by observation and we didn’t
know any better until Einstein came along. Newton’s physics has survived
because it explains every observation except for the extreme ends of the
space-time spectrum. Likewise, the BB theory will survive although it may get
refined.
The theory,
accepted by nearly all today, was a radical departure from scientific thinking
in the 1930s. So, I can imagine Dr Salam as a doubter before the seventies, but
not after. From the standpoint of science, Salam’s argument that the Big Bang
theory may not survive is only a rhetorical argument and a poor one as you can
now very well understand and appreciate. That he resorted to such a poor
argument to avoid endorsing the Quranic verses on creation although, the verses
described in his own words, are quite accurate as to what did happen, is most
surprising. Why did he do that? My best guess of the reasons is as follows:
Why Was
Salam Reluctant To Endorse The Accurate Description Of The Creation Event In
The Quran?
Muslims in
general have very poor knowledge of the Quran and do not know which of the
stories they have heard are from the Quran and which of them are from the Ahadith.
The stories commonly told are all from the Ahadith and almost none from
the Quran. Every story in the Ahadith is a concocted fable which is
beyond belief for a thinking person. For example, if you ask any Muslim at
random, about the story of Alam-e-Arwah, he is likely to say that it is from
the Quran. This story and indeed every story numbering in hundreds from the Ahadith
could be described using Salam’s words as “essentially allegorical, religious,
spiritual experience which I think is a totally different dimension”. To be precise, the different dimension is the
dimension of senselessness or of “suspended disbelief”. Salam was undoubtedly a
firm believer in the Ahadith because the foundation of the Ahmadiyya
sect rests on a few Ahadith. Firm believers in the Ahadith make
no distinction between the Quran and the Ahadith and to them, Islam is
the Quran plus the Ahadith with greater emphasis on the Ahadith.
You will find many proud Sheikh-ul-Hadith but rarely a Sheikh-ul-Quran. Salam’s description fits the Ahadith
but not the Quran and in all probability, Salam may have lacked deep knowledge
of the Quran to know which of the stories are not from the Quran. It is
therefore understandable why he may have had a general sense of discomfort with
religious truths being compared with scientific truths.
Another
Possible Reason for Salam’s Reluctance to Endorse the Quranic Verses
Lemaître
who proposed the Big Bang theory was a Catholic priest with deeply-held
religious beliefs. The Judeo-Christian idea of the creation of the Universe in
six days was in contrast to the earlier belief of the scientists of a static
universe without a beginning. The Judeo-Christian theologians felt vindicated
when science discovered that there was indeed a creation moment before which
nothing existed. Pope Pius XII referred to the new theory of the origin of the
universe as a scientific validation of the Catholic faith.
For Lemaître however, his catholic beliefs
were not what led him to his scientific investigations and discoveries. His
first discovery was that of an expanding universe on which the Bible is silent.
The idea of an exploding universe from the “primaeval atom” is also not there
in the Bible. He, therefore, made no connection between his religious beliefs
and his science. Moreover, the Bible is very much like our Ahadith with
verses that have been shown to be unscientific which makes keeping science and
the Bible apart a very sensible thing to do.
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Also Read: Darwinism is Consistent with Qur’anic Insights on Man’s Origin
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Dr Abdus
Salam may have been blindly following Lemaître’s example, which has become a
‘best practice’ for Judeo-Christian scientists because their scriptures contain
many unscientific verses.
However, in
my opinion, there is no reason for Muslim scientists to follow that example.
The Quran contains a far more detailed and precise description of the creation
of the Universe and does not contain any verses that speak of creation,
procreation, history and natural phenomena that have been proven to be
unscientific. On the contrary, all of them have been proved to be right and
precise by scientific discoveries in the last two centuries.
In my
opinion, therefore, Salam’s diffidence betrays a lack of deep and intimate
knowledge of the Quran or an unthinking following in the footsteps of the
Judeo-Christian scientists.
Dr
Salam’s Ahmadiyya Faith
It is
important to discuss this aspect and not ignore it because of the animosity and
blind prejudice against Muslims of the Ahmadiyya sect, especially in Pakistan.
The reaction to the Ahmadiyya calling their leader Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of
Qadian, a Nabi, is beyond reason, and their claims are not very different from:
1.
The Mahdavis who believe in a Mahdi who has
already come
2.
The Sunni who believe in a Mahdi to come
3.
The Shia who believe in hereditary Imamat and a
Mahdi in hiding who will come one day.
4.
The Sufi who believe their Pirs receive direct
knowledge from Allah and/or the Prophet and in the power of the Pir to intercede
with Allah.
The
overreaction to the Ahmadiyya is based on envy and jealousy because they are
among the best-educated and most prosperous communities and have little to do
with their beliefs. It is also a reaction because it was the Ahmadiyya who took
the aggressive initiative and declared everyone who didn’t subscribe to their
views “Kafir”. They did this in their mistaken belief in a hadith that predicts
that Islam will triumph in the world and people will flock to the Mahdi who in
their opinion was Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian. Ironically, the Ahadith
on which the Ahmadiyya base their faith, are the Saheeh Ahadith
which all Sunnis believe in. The hadith also predicts the coming of a Mahdi
towards the end of the 14th century Hijra and Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian
declared that he was the promised Mahdi at the end of the 14th century. This is
another proof that all the Ahadith are concocted nonsense and anyone who
believes in them will come to grief.
In my
opinion, the Ahmadiyya websites provide some of the best Tafseer on the Quran,
and the Ahmadiyya are good Muslims, who honour the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and
Allah. Their beliefs do not dishonour Islam, and they are a people we can be
proud of and be friends with. In any case, Allah has not taken a covenant from
us to force others to believe as we do.
(6:159)
As for those who divide their religion and break up into sects, thou hast no
part in them in the least: their affair is with Allah: He will in the end tell
them the truth of all that they did.
While Allah
asks us not to meddle in sectarian politics and leave the matter for Allah to
decide, Pakistan has placed itself under a self-inflicted curse by doing the
opposite by its:
1. Discriminatory Blasphemy Laws
2. Discriminatory Law Declaring the Ahmadiyya
Non-Muslim
and has
given the sectarian bigots, the encouragement they needed to wreak havoc. The
results are plain to everyone. Pakistan is weakened and is being torn apart by
narrow sectarianism and will ultimately implode proving the following Ayat of
Allah true:
(6:65)
Say: "He has power to send calamities on you, from above and below, or to
cover you with confusion in sectarian strife, giving you a taste of mutual
vengeance - each from the other." See how We explain the signs by various
(symbols); that they may understand.
Pakistan
can get rid itself of the curse of sectarian strife that is ripping it apart,
by repealing those laws for:
(13:11)
Allah does not change a people´s lot unless they change themselves. But when
(once) Allah decides on a people´s punishment, there can be no turning it back,
nor will they find, besides Him, any to protect.
Hopefully,
the people will come to their senses and change themselves by becoming tolerant
of other people and their beliefs, before Allah completes His exemplary
punishment.
Conclusion
A person
who has intimate and in-depth knowledge of the Quran would have believed in the
verses even before the Big Bang theory was proposed while the science current
until then held the view of a static universe with no beginning and no end. He
would have believed without a doubt that the science still had some way to go
before the truth of the verses became clear to all. Such verses are a sign for
the people of our times about the truth of the Quran as the word of God.
To people
of our times, the stories of the prophets and their miracles sound like fairy
tales. Allah has provided incontrovertible signs for people of all times so
that no one is left with an excuse for their disbelief in His scriptures which
include all previous scriptures. Allah has provided His scriptures as a
guidance to mankind, gave them the instinct for belief in God, and verses that
provide evidence that the Book is indeed the word of God.
This discussion also underlines the danger
that the Ahadith pose to the correct understanding of the Quran and why
they are best kept far away if you want to understand the Quran correctly. As I
have shown in several of my articles, knowledge of science greatly assists in
the correct understanding of the Quran while the Ahadith are the
greatest stumbling block.
So, if you
want to become a good Muslim with an unshakable faith in the Quran, you need to
have a very good knowledge of the sciences and the literally accurate
(“uninterpreted”) meaning of the Quran which you will then be able to
understand clearly with your sound and deep knowledge of subjects that have a
bearing on the meaning of the verse. Keep away assiduously, the entire body of
secondary Islamic literature such as the Ahadith, including the
explanations and commentaries of past scholars. The earliest Muslims were the
best Muslims but certainly, they couldn’t have had the best knowledge of the
Quran. Far from it, they misunderstood many of the verses because they did not
possess the required knowledge from science to correctly understand many of the
verses. We can be the ones to have the best knowledge of the Quran if we make
the right effort and in the right way.
-----
A frequent contributor to NewAgeIslam.com, Naseer
Ahmed is an Engineering graduate from IIT Kanpur and is an independent IT
consultant after having served in both the Public and Private sector in
responsible positions for over three decades. He has spent years studying Quran
in-depth and made seminal contributions to its interpretation.
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-science/abdus-salam-science-big-bang-creation-quran/d/127162
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