In the name of ALLAH, the most
beneficent and the most MERCIFUL.
And if you (Arab pagans, Jews, and Christians) are in doubt concerning that
which Wehave sent down (i.e. the Qur'an) to Our slave (Muhammad Peace be upon
him), then produce a Surah (chapter) of the like thereof and call your witnesses
(supporters and helpers) besides Allah, if you are truthful. But if you do it
not, and you can never do it,then fear the Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and
stones, prepared for the disbelievers.
[Surah Al-Baqarah, Surah no. 2, verse no. 23 & 24] – Do not say the reference
and do not read the words given in brackets in the Verses above --
[Respected president, honourable teachers and my dear class
fellows]Assalam-o-Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuhu…The topic I have been
given to express my thoughts is “Islam and Science”
. [A little pause]Ever since the dawn of human life on this planet, Man has
always sought to understand Nature, his own place in the scheme of Creation and
the purpose of Life itself. In this quest for Truth, spanning manycenturies and
diverse civilizations, organized religion has shaped human life and determined
to a largeextent, the course of history. While some religions have been based on
books, claimed by their adherents to be divinely inspired, others have relied
solely on human experience.In Islam, the revelation, the main source of the
Islamic faith, is a source believed by Muslims, to be of completely Divine
origin. Muslims also believe that it contains guidance for all mankind. Since
this Divinemessage is believed to be for all times, it should be relevant to
every age. I intend to give an objectiveanalysis of the Muslim belief regarding
the Divine message, in the light of established scientificdiscoveries.[Respected
president]A millennium ago a physicist under house arrest rewrote the scientific
understanding of optics —the studyof the behaviour and properties of light. In a
book that has been compared in its revolutionary effect with Newton's Principia
more than 700 years later, a Muslim scientist in Cairo—Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn al-Hasanibn
al-Haytham (or as he is known in the West, Alhazen) proved that light travelled
in straight lines viavarious experiments that employed mirrors and refraction.
In a stroke, Alhazen pioneered the modernscientific method as well as
experimental physics.He also was the first to describe the camera obscura, a box
with a hole in it that captures an image for the purpose of drawing it
precisely, a precursor to the modern camera, as well as examining optical
illusions in-depth and the thought processes behind human visual perception. His
contributions also include the firstexplanation of dawn and twilight as effects
of atmospheric refraction.[Dear audience]Muslims have always had a special
interest in astronomy. The moon and the sun are of vital importance inthe daily
life of every Muslim. By the moon, Muslims determine the beginning and the end
of the months intheir lunar calendar. By the sun the Muslims calculate the times
for prayer and fasting.It is also by means of astronomy that Muslims can
determine the precise direction of the Qiblah, to face theKa'bah in Makkah,
during prayer. The most precise solar calendar, superior to the Julian, is the
Jilali,devised under the supervision of Umar Khayyam.
The Qur'an contains many references to astronomy."The heavens and the earth were
ordered rightly, and were made subservient to man, including thesun, the moon,
the stars, and day and night. Every heavenly body moves in an orbit assigned to
it byGod and never digresses, making the universe an orderly cosmos whose life
and existence, diminutionand expansion, are totally determined by the Creator."
[Qur'an 30:22]These references, and the injunctions to learn, inspired the early
Muslim scholars to study the heavens.They integrated the earlier works of the
Indians, Persians and Greeks into a new synthesis.