Islam and Science

                                              Islam and Science

The Islamic world is one of the most diverse in the entire universe. From their traditions and beliefs to their way of life, I am going to discuss some things that are the basis for all religions. It's not a common subject in this era and people think that there might be something wrong. But after reading the book "Islam And Science" by Dr. Fazlur Rahman, he pointed out many reasons why Islam is right and why science is wrong. His argument will be discussed here. In his research, he proved both right and wrong. He explained why Islam is correct as it has more evidence and the reason why scientific research is wrong without supporting it with any proof.

First, let me explain what science is. An example is that you need to solve a problem. How do you solve this kind of problem if your computer's battery dies? You use electricity. What does it have to do with science? If electricity has no value then without electricity there will be no computers, telephones, or microwaves. So to solve a problem with electricity means without electricity, not with science. This is a basic view of the difference between science and religion. Now that we know the definition of religious belief, let us discuss science.

In science, scientists study the nature of the world around them. They learn about the planets' movement and planets' atmosphere. There are different types of planets around the earth. These planets include our sun, Mars, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, and Saturn. Scientists can see these planets through telescopes. For example, the first telescope was built by an English astronomer called Sir Isaac Newton. Newton studied the movement and shape of these planets. Then through another experiment on a small balloon, he studied the size of the planet and the distance between the earth and its closest planet, Mercury. On 12th June 1607, Isaac Newton made the following observation in the form of a letter that he published in a journal. He wrote, “If the speed of light in the air is 299,792 miles per hour, then the distance from the Earth to the nearest star would be 7,564.5 million miles” (Science Daily). This observation by him showed that there is nothing like the stars but something even bigger and more powerful than them and that is the moon. With time, astronomers started to believe in this information. The next step was to find out why the moon was invisible to the human eye. Why the satellite did not take its place as the moon in the sky? A few years later other people believed that the same thing happened on two occasions. One was when Galileo saw the satellite Venus moving faster than the moon and two, while the human being was observing the surface of the sun he saw the shadow of the moon rising out of his sight (Maddison). As soon as the scientist found out the answer he explained that the satellite is invisible because of the sun's reflection, which is not visible to humans now.

So these observations were not just made by humans, they were done by scientists. Even though some parts of the earth look similar to the earth, you will still see a slight color difference.

These observations made humans believe in everything that scientists found out. People believed that the moon is invisible, the satellites are really small, that we can't see light from space, and so on. They also believed that science is based on facts that scientists have discovered. That is why they never questioned anything since they knew it to be true. Also for many centuries, scientists had been living happily ever after with this hypothesis but recently people have started questioning it or thinking that it was somehow false. Some people said that the moon that humans are seeing is not the real moon and that it has a lot of holes in it. Many moon inhabitants who lived before man say that the moon looked like a pear due to the hole in it. In the beginning, some people may be skeptical but in the long run, their belief in science was stronger than anyone else's opinion. Because people believed in their eyes science they never thought about others' opinions or points of view. They used to believe that only someone can prove their point of view right or wrong.

Now let me give a short explanation of how science works by stating that science is based on three pillars. These pillars are the knowledge of science, the methods of science, and the results of science. Knowledge is the foundation of science. Without knowing a subject like mathematics or physics you cannot build a house or even create a device. By understanding math, you can calculate the weight of the object on the building you choose. Knowing how to create a car with four wheels or how much power you need to lift 500 pounds is knowledge. To create knowledge you must develop new tools like telescopes and microscopes. Once you know a technique for using something to achieve certain goals, you then start developing the method that you can use to help yourself get better knowledge. Methods are the actions that you use to obtain knowledge. Scientific methods include experimentation, observation, modeling, and theoretical analysis (Madsen). Results are the actual result of the experiments and the outcome of a theory. If it doesn’t work then it means that there is nothing like it, and no matter how you try, you will fail at getting the desired results. So the aim of science is understanding and doing things the way they should be done. That’s why the term science is derived from and given by researchers. When scientists understand the world they build theories that explain the happenings in it. These theories then become tested and proven and they lead to discoveries that change the world.

Now that we covered science a bit we are left on a good note. We learned that science has only two ways of proving its truth. Either you gain experience for yourself or find out someone who already has had enough experience gained in the past and ask them if they had to work for this experience. I believe that this is the best and easiest way of understanding science if you follow this path. No scientist or researcher had ever had so much knowledge as to make a telescope even when they didn't know how to make a telescope. Their knowledge is not bound just by the fact that they went through a lab. Since you can learn a process, it shows that you are capable of making some improvements. When you read and study science, it shows you that anything in space has some effect on us. Therefore there is no reason not to believe in science because we can learn about things in space.

Science has many benefits that help in improving the lives of human beings. While talking about learning new ideas in the market we do notice how it helps consumers. Consumers buy different kinds of goods that come with various labels. Labels are very important because it helps them distinguish an item and what it needs to be. Customers who bought products from different stores use their labels to identify them and what type of product they are most likely to buy. Thus customers who buy different items from different stores also use their labels to identify the brand of the goods in the store. They then search online for that product to find it. The consumer can easily go to where the product is from and purchase it easily. However, not everyone uses the company's labeling system and finds certain brands difficult to differentiate from others. For example, chocolate bars are often considered luxury chocolates because the bar has many ingredients. Chocolate lovers can easily recognize chocolates that are labeled as luxury chocolates because they are mostly decorated with rich cocoa powder. Most people can also tell if the chocolates have high sugar content by taste. If you have the opportunity to taste an expensive bar and realize that it is low in calories and contains higher sugar than average, you won’t know whether it’s worth buying or keeping it for yourself. This is the beauty of science that gives you the chance to check out the products you buy before buying them. Not all people are lucky enough to see beautiful labels and enjoy eating tasty food. But they do watch out for them. Of course, you can also check out a label if you want something that isn’t advertised. You don’t have to have money to do this. Just pay attention to the name and find one that fits your personality. In addition to checking labels, people also take the time to compare themselves with others or even compare them with the other person's labels. They try to judge how far they are from the others and how close they are to the status of those who have already experienced success. According to statistics, if an individual sees a label he/she is trying to reach, there is no such a person in there, a person simply looks up and compares himself. This person doesn’t care if they are on top or below or above others. This trait is usually called Social Darwinism.

There are many examples to support my statement. I am always amazed when I hear people praise music from famous musicians. The artiste knows what exactly an audience likes and the type of songs people prefer to listen to. But most people don't get the chance to do that. Music has become popular in every country and that has led to the growth of musical instruments. Everyone gets the chance to play the piano or violin and the chances are that some of you are the ones who play jazz or classical music. When you see the instrument, it reminds you of the story it tells. If a musician plays a song in front of the audience, they try to portray that feeling or emotion of what they are playing. It becomes easier to perform if you see others performing in front of the camera, watching and listening. After looking back on history, it is clear that artists try to create pictures and stories to enhance performance and communication. It makes the public feel a connection to the artists. Music can influence listeners directly through music videos and sound effects. Another example is advertising. Advertising has transformed over the years.