Faith and the Importance of Explicit Knowledge
By
Naseer Ahmed, New Age Islam
13 July
2022
It Is Therefore Our Duty As Muslims To Pursue
The Sciences As A Sacred Religious Duty. This Will Benefit Us and Make Us
Successful Both in This World and the Hereafter
-----
While the
scriptures are books of implicit knowledge sent down for the guidance of
mankind by Allah, the prophets (pbut) also sought explicit knowledge to
strengthen and sustain their faith and Allah granted their request. The
following verses provide the evidence:
Prophet
Ibrahim
(2:260)
When Abraham said: “Show me, Lord, how You will raise the dead, “ He replied:
“Have you no faith?” He said, “Yes, but just to reassure my heart.” Allah said,
“Take four birds, draw them to you, and cut their bodies to pieces. Scatter
them over the mountain-tops, then call them back. They will come swiftly to
you. Know that Allah is Mighty, Wise.”
(6:75)
So also did We show Abraham the power and the laws of the heavens and the
earth, that he might (with understanding) have certitude.
To
strengthen the faith of Prophet Ibrahim, Allah further showed him the laws of
the heavens and the earth.
Prophet
Moses
(7:143) When
Moses came to the place appointed by Us, and his Lord addressed him, He said:
"O my Lord! show (Thyself) to me, that I may look upon thee." Allah
said: "By no means canst thou see Me (direct); But look upon the mount; if
it abides in its place, then shalt thou see Me." When his Lord manifested His
glory on the Mount, He made it as dust. And Moses fell down in a swoon. When he
recovered his senses he said: "Glory be to Thee! to Thee I turn in
repentance, and I am the first to believe."
Allah spoke
to Moses and strengthened him with numerous signs.
Prophet
Jesus
He was also
blessed with numerous signs of Allah
Prophet
Muhammad
Prophet
Muhammad made a miraculous journey of the heavens and was shown Allah’s signs
in person.
(17:1)
Glory to (Allah) Who did take His servant for a Journey by night from the
Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque, whose precincts We did bless,- in order
that We might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the One Who heareth and
seeth (all things).
(17:60)
Behold! We told thee that thy Lord doth encompass mankind round about: We
granted the vision which We showed thee, but as a trial for men,- as also the
Cursed Tree (mentioned) in the Qur´an: We put terror (and warning) into them,
but it only increases their inordinate transgression!
(53:7)
While he was in the highest part of the horizon:
(8) Then
he approached and came closer,
(9) And
was at a distance of but two bow-lengths or (even) nearer;
(10) So
did (Allah) convey the inspiration to His Servant- (conveyed) what He (meant)
to convey.
(11) The
(Prophet´s) (mind and) heart in no way falsified that which he saw.
(12)
Will ye then dispute with him concerning what he saw?
(13) For
indeed he saw him at a second descent,
(14)
Near the Lote tree beyond which none may pass:
(15)
Near it is the Garden of Abode.
(16)
Behold, the Lote tree was shrouded (in mystery unspeakable!)
(17)
(His) sight never swerved, nor did it go wrong!
(18) For
truly did he see, of the Signs of his Lord, the Greatest!
What
Lesson Do We Learn From The Stories?
Allah
showed Prophet Ibrahim of the laws of the heavens and the earth, so that “he
might (with understanding) have certitude” and the same is available to us in
the study and pursuit of the cosmic sciences. We can raise our level of
certitude with understanding if only we read the relevant verses of the Quran
and seek their fuller explanation in science. The heavens are referred to 381
times in the Quran and in their study is the greatest evidence of Allah’s
powers. A believer who reads these verses and then looks for a fuller explanation
in the cosmic sciences will have his faith strengthened to the level of the
prophets. Do not deny yourself this great opportunity.
Consider
the verse:
(67:3)
He Who created the seven heavens in layers: No want of proportion wilt thou see
in the Creation of (Allah) Most Gracious. So turn thy vision again: seest thou
any flaw? (4) Again turn thy vision a second time: (thy) vision will come back
to thee dull and discomfited, in a state worn out.
Does the
verse prevent us from looking at the heavens for any flaw or appreciating its
perfection using a telescope? So why would we not see using the most powerful
telescopes such as the Hubble telescope or the Hubble space telescope or the
impressive range of the most advanced space telescopes that have been deployed
to collect the data and powerful computers to process and analyse the data
collected to form informed hypotheses and theories? Indeed, to appreciate what
is meant by not finding a flaw or lack of proportion we have a duty to study as
closely as possible using the best means. To describe the lack of flaw and
proportion that science has discovered would take a book. The finely tuned
cosmological and other physical constants, the role of dark energy and dark
matter besides gravity in keeping the universe together, the process by which
the heavier elements are formed in the “heavens” and the earth enriched in the
right proportions to make life possible are some of the things that we have
learnt from doing what the Quran is asking us to do. Religion has certainly
greatly influenced the pursuit of science and many of the earliest scientists’ up
to the early 20th century were religious scholars, monks and priests. The
sheer number of verses on the “Samavat” or the Universe is telling us
that the greatest proof of Allah’s greatness is to be found in the perfection,
order and proportion in the creation of the Universe.
(79:27) What!
Are ye the more difficult to create or the heavens? (Allah) hath constructed
it: (28) High hath He raised it, and He hath given it order and perfection
Conclusion
The
Universe is indeed also Allah’s Book which provides a fuller explanation of the
verses in the Quran about the material world. To understand these correctly, we
need to have an accurate knowledge of the material world to which the verse
relates. Accurate knowledge of the material world comes from the effort of
specialised people whom we call scientists. It is therefore our duty as Muslims
to pursue the sciences as a sacred religious duty. This will benefit us and
make us successful both in this world and the Hereafter. Let us not allow the
following verse to prove true in our case by turning a blind eye to science.
(17:72) But
those who were blind in this world, will be blind in the hereafter, and most
astray from the Path.
-----
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/spiritual-meditations/faith-explicit-knowledge-science-quran/d/127470
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