Science and the Quran

Question:-

I am interested in the views of Muslims. Are they anti-science as some creationist Christian fundi's are? These do not seem to be mainstream Christians. Main stream Christians seem to be theist-evolutionists: they usually see evolution as part of God's plan and they don't read Genesis as being literally the word of God. Muslims take the Quran as literally the word of God and this it seems would make them unable to accept the scientific theory of Evolution.

Comment:-

Yes, the Quran contains the Word of God, but not everything in it is to be interpreted literally. It also contains allegories and symbolism. The verses of the Quran are called "Ayat" meaning the signs of Allah and this also refers to the things and events in the Universe to which the Quran is constantly pointing. Islam is the "Religion of Truth" and as such is concerned with seeking knowledge, understanding and awareness, which ought also be the aim of science. There can be no conflict between Islam and Science as long as Islam is understood correctly and Scientific Theories are true.

The subject of evolution from the Islamic point of view has been dealt with in some depth in "Views of Islam" Views 57 to 60 and also in "The Alternative Way" Book 9 Chapter 3- Biology which can be read on and downloaded from www.altway.freeuk.com

The gist of it is as follows:-

The Quran tells us that Allah created the world in stages. We know how human beings develop from a fertilised egg, but this does not prevent us from saying that human beings were created by Allah. Allah is the creator of the Laws by which things arise. The discovery of these laws does not invalidate the Creativity of Allah but establishes it.

Biologists like Dawson try to discriminate between designs in nature and designs created by man, and therefore, reject the idea of creation by design because they think this refers to something like human design. But this is basically a false distinction based on erroneous thinking. Islam does not think of Allah as a man. But we do recognise that there are most certainly designs in nature. There are crystals of various kinds. Atoms have structures, so does the Solar System and all the organisms on earth. Nature makes patterns. Birds make nests. Are birds not natural? Are human beings that make designs not natural? Do they derive theirs abilities to do so from nature or from supernatural sources? So either the biologists think that human faculties are natural or that they derive from supernatural sources. In either case they derive from Allah.

It is also a question of knowing what intelligence means. If we give up the naïve anthropomorphic attitude that appears to derive from the Christian idea of God as the man, Jesus, then intelligence can be defined as adaptability, adjustment, the tendency to find an equilibrium. This is a Universal factor.

Determinism is an unproved assumption, a paradigm by which things are interpreted in Science and this reappears in the conclusions. There are other ways of interpreting, organising and understanding the facts of existence and experience. Secular science tries to be impersonal and this is confused with objectivity. In fact, however, we have evolved in relation to the real world on which we are dependent and this means a personal relationship. Our experiences are not independent of the nature of our minds and everything we do has a motive and the aim is to benefit ourselves. If it is not personal then it is useless. That is the objective way of interpreting experience.

Biologists and others invoke the notion of "chance" and random mutations to explain evolution in order to avoid the idea of God. They have created an unnecessary dichotomy between Determinism and Chance. But chance cannot be a cause and if things are to be explained by "Chance" then one might as well give up science. Chance simply means ignorance of causes or inability to calculate all the causes. Mutations have causes and these causes are built into the structure of the Universe. A mutation can be regarded as a creative act of God.

The Selfish Gene Hypothesis is connected with this and has been created to explain many phenomena. But this cannot be accepted because throughout nature we find that things interact are dependant on each other, parts recognise the system to which they belong and adjust to it and to each other so that there is a degree of altruism and self-sacrifice. In fact, self-preservation and collective welfare are often interdependent, or even identical, each being an aspect of the same thing.

From the Islamic point of view everything is caused by the Will of Allah so that we do not have the dichotomy between Determinism and Chance. We have different degrees of probability. Allah is One and has created all things in a self-consistent manner so that all things form a unified system. All parts must adjust to the whole. He is also the Maintainer and Guide. Evolution is a guided development that leads to increasing consciousness according to the formula:-

"Allah was a hidden treasure and wished to be known. Therefore He created the Universe."

or

"He created the Universe as a test those who are the best in conduct."

"Do not you see that Allah created the heavens and the earth in Truth? If He please He can remove you and replace you with a new creation." 14:19

"And the soul and Who fashioned it, and enlightened it with what is wrong and right for it! He indeed is successful who causes it to grow! And he indeed is a failure who corrupts it!." 91:7-10

Secular Scientists wish to avoid religion based ideas because these are generally accepted without intelligent thinking and understanding. But this is not a reasonable attitude. The rejection, as the acceptance, is also done without intelligent thought and understanding. The fact that others do not think is no excuse for them not to think. The critics of religion do not appear to understand that human beings know and understand, consciously or sub-consciously, that they are a) part of a much greater reality than themselves with which (b) they interact and on which (c) they are dependent. The primary needs of security, love and significance are connected with this. It is, therefore, an inherent tendency to seek to understand, relate and adjust to that ultimate Reality. The narrow self-centred ego is not a primary inherent factor as can be seen from new born babies, but is a severe restriction of this caused by mental attachment or hypnosis to ones body and name that suppresses the wider awareness. Human perception, motives and tendencies to action connected with this primary awareness, now suppressed into unconsciousness, is more fundamental and wider than what now passes for consciousness and reason.

From the Islamic point of view the created Universe has a beginning and everything, therefore, starts from a homogenous unity. This means that all things differentiate from a unity remain interdependent parts of a single system. The parts are themselves sub-systems which have parts that are also further subsystems and so on. If an impulse enters into a sub-system S2 from a higher system S1, then the parts S3 of that subsystem must re-adjust themselves to each other and adapt. The original equilibrium E1 has been disturbed and a new equilibrium E2 has to be established. The ability to do this is intelligence. The Cause of an event is a relationship between external factors and factors inherent in the objects.

We can distinguish the following levels of Reality:-

(1) The Absolute World which there is no differentiation between things and it contains all possibilities. As there is no differentiation, nothing can be known and there is no distinction between knower, known and knowledge,

(2) If anything should arise in it that can be distinguished from anything else then this requires a cause inherent in the Absolute Reality itself. An inherent cause is also a Purpose.

(3) The Fundamental Principles or Constants that underlie the Created world.

(4) The World of Potentialities. This can be seen as a network of forces. A set of interacting causes C1, C2, C3 etc. can produce a set of effects E1, E2, E3 etc. But the same effect can also arise by a combination of a different set of causes. Though given a set of causes it is possible to predict an effect, it is not, therefore, possible, given a single cause, to predict an effect, or given an effect to retrodict the set of causes giving rise to it.

(5) The Actual world. This is a small restricted part of the Potential world. Given the forces and the laws governing them, more things are possible than actually happen. The line of causation A > B > C > D etc. is only a track of many possible ones in the network of forces. These tracks collectively also form a network.

(6) The World of Experience. Owing to the limits of our faculties we experience only a small part of the actual world.

(7) The Mental World. We are aware only of a small part of our total experiences.

(8) The world of illusions. We also create a world in imagination. This is like the Absolute World at a much smaller and restricted scale.

Critic:-

You seem to pretend that all Muslims think alike and have no problem reconciling science with religion. I know plenty of Muslims that think (for example) that gays are 'unnatural' and should be punished for being exactly what God (or nature) made them.

Comment:-

Yes there are Muslims, with all kinds of opinions based on different amounts of knowledge and understanding, as there are adherents of other religions or systems of thought or none at all. But why ask a specific question if you did not want a specific answer?

The reply depends on what the person knows and understands about the Quran. You accept or reject according to your knowledge, understanding, and motives.

As for "gays", it all depends on what you mean by "natural" or "unnatural".

As everything has causes, nothing is "unnatural", including diseases, criminal, immoral and anti-social behaviour that people want to get rid of. In so far as the sexual organs are made for reproduction and these are misused, "gays" are unnatural in that sense. But a "Gay" person who wishes to justify himself might reject the Quran and all it says because that suits him.

Critic:-

Someone said: "Blatant contradictions which cannot be reconciled either literally or allegorically - I do not think they exist in the Quran."

I beg to differ. One needs to use quite a bit of retrofitting, mental gymnastics and disregard of common sense to make that statement somewhat true (after reading the Quran that is; it seems most Muslims I meet never really do read their holy books)

Comment:-

The Quran asserts that there are no contradictions in it. If the Quran is taken as the Word of God then that is how the Quran must be read. There are no contradictions in the Quran, but readers may interpret things in a contradictory manner. They may do so because they misunderstand owing to wrong attitudes, inadequate knowledge or efforts at study and meditation, or because of false motives, sub-conscious or deliberate.

We know that there are controversies in all fields of thought, apart from those in religion. It is not, therefore, anything new that you disagree with Muslims, especially if, as you say, the ones you come across have not read the Quran. Neither have you read it correctly and understood it.

Let us put it this way:-

(1) The Quran was not written in a modern scientific language otherwise it would not have been understood. But it is concerned with Truth and knowledge and ways of understanding it. In so far as this is also the aim of Science, there cannot be any contradictions between them.

(2) Science is a particular way of seeking and formulating knowledge of a certain kind. But it is a progressive so that at no time can it be said that it is complete or even wholly true. In the case of the Quran, knowledge and understanding are also progressive. Contradictions may exist because of partial knowledge and understanding on either or both sides.

(3) The purpose of science is to gather and systematise facts and to apply this in technology. The purpose of the Quran and religion in general is to promote values and affect motives and to apply it in the conduct of life and human evolution in the sense of spiritual development. These differences in purpose make a difference that must be understood.

(4) It has been pointed out by some social scientists that there is a difference between Logos and Mythos. That is, between factual knowledge that pretends to be a description of things as they are and the description of how things affect or should affect human beings. Scriptures contain teaching stories such as the struggle between Moses and Pharaoh which represent the struggle between the spiritual and worldly, the higher and lower in man. They form patterns in the mind and connect with deeper sub-conscious levels in man. Religion uses symbolism which refers to truths that cannot be described literally because they are not sensory experiences but require insight into the patterns of events. They are like the formula used in science.

However, knowledge is human knowledge and depends partly on the nature of the human mind. Its function, like all human faculties that have arisen over an evolutionary period in interaction with the world, is to benefit human beings. Science, as a special part of knowledge in general, is a human interpretation of how the world is seen by them and how they interact with it. The purpose is to adjust to Reality. It is probably true to say that the Quran, therefore, does not make the distinction between Logos and Mythos. The Ayat refer to both the verses of the Quran and the facts in Nature, in heaven and earth, to which the Quran points many times. But Knowledge refers to persons and varies with the degree of understanding and perception.

"This (Quran) is naught else than a reminder unto creation, unto whomsoever of you wills to walk straight. And ye will not, unless it be that Allah wills, the Lord of Creation." 81:27-29 and 68:52.

Critic:-

The present age appears to be marked by a conflict between faith and reason throughout the world. How does Islam reconcile the two.

Comment:-

This is a misunderstanding. In fact, there is no conflict between faith and reason. They depend on each other. Faith, like hope and love with which it is inter-dependant, refers to something on which the conduct of life is based. It requires perception and the confidence that controls motives and action. Reason refers to thinking, processing the data of inner and outer experiences. Religious people do justify their faith through reason. And Science is certainly based on a set of fundamental assumptions regarded as axiomatic, self-evident, that are held through faith. Doubt arises only when a contradiction or conflict is perceived between something and these fundamental principles. This is an uncomfortable feeling. The purpose of doubt is to activate a person to seek knowledge and remove the conflict. If this is not done then the mind disintegrates into several separate compartments or complexes. The power of human perception and insight and the validity and supremacy of reason act as articles of faith. But Reason is an instrument that is directed by motives, purposes and values. Man, as other organisms, have a function in the scheme of things and this requires knowledge, motive and action, and these are inter-dependent.

Scientists and others who wish to attack religion on the grounds that it is based not on reason but revelation do not seem to understand that human beings do not live only by intellectual knowledge, but that there is a hunger at a much deeper sub-conscious and unconscious level where their soul recognises the greater reality of which they are part and seeks to identify with it. Separation from it is the cause of stress and distress that is not always consciously recognised owing to distractions but nevertheless requires relief. What man seeks is harmony that constitutes self-fulfilment. That is what brings happiness and peace, and that goal is formulated as Paradise. This desire, need or urge to transcend oneself is often misunderstood and expressed and diverted into the desire to belong to a cause or group or attaching oneself to something perceived as a power source or object of love.

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