|
Chapter 3 Scientists Confirm The Signs Of Allah What we have covered so far shows us that the attributes of the universe discovered by science point to the existence of Allah. Science leads us to the conclusion that the universe has a Creator and this Creator is perfect in might, wisdom and knowledge. It is religion that shows us the way in knowing Allah. It is therefore possible to say that science is a method we use to better see and investigate the realities addressed by religion. Nevertheless, today, some of the scientists who step forth in the name of science take an entirely different stand. In their view, scientific discoveries do not imply the creation of Allah. They have, on the contrary, projected an atheistic understanding of science by saying that it is not possible to reach Allah through scientific data: they claim that science and religion are two clashing notions.
As a matter of fact, this atheistic understanding of science is quite recent. Until a few centuries ago, science and religion were never thought to clash with each other, and science was accepted as a method of proving the existence of Allah. The so-called atheistic understanding of science flourished only after the materialist and positivist philosophies swept through the world of science in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Particularly after Charles Darwin postulated the theory of evolution in 1859, circles holding a materialistic world view started to ideologically defend this theory, which they looked upon as an alternative to religion. The theory of evolution argued that the universe was not created by a creator but came into being by chance. As a result, it was asserted that religion was in conflict with science. The British researchers Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln said on this issue that a century and a half before Darwin, science was not yet divorced from religion and was actually a part of it, its ultimate purpose being to serve it. By Darwin's day, however, science had become detached from religion and defined itself as an absolute rival and alternative to it. These three researchers finally conclude that humanity was from then on forced to make a choice between the two.23
As we stated before, the so-called split between science and religion was totally ideological. Some scientists, who earnestly believed in materialism, conditioned themselves to prove that the universe had no creator and they devised various theories in this context. The theory of evolution was the most famous and the most important of them. In the field of astronomy as well certain theories were developed such as the "steady-state theory" or the "chaos theory". However, all of these theories that denied creation were demolished by science itself, as we have clearly shown in the previous chapters.
Today, scientists who still keep to these theories and insist on denying all things religious, are dogmatic and bigoted people, who have conditioned themselves not to believe in Allah. The famous English zoologist and evolutionist D.M.S. Watson confesses to this dogmatism as he explains why he and his colleagues accept the theory of evolution:
What Watson means by "special
creation" is Allah's creation. As acknowledged, this scientist
finds this "unacceptable". But why? Is it because science says
so? Actually it does not. On the contrary, science proves the
truth of creation. The only reason why Watson looks upon this
fact as unacceptable is because he has conditioned himself to
deny the existence of Allah. All other evolutionists take the
same stand.
Evolutionists rely not on science but on materialist philosophy and they distort science to make it agree with this philosophy. A geneticist and an outspoken evolutionist from Harvard University, Richard Lewontin, confesses to this truth:
On the other hand, today, just
as in history, there are, as opposed to this dogmatic materialist
group, scientists who confirm Allah's existence, and regard science
as a way of knowing Him. Some trends developing in the USA such
as "Creationism" or "Intelligent Design" prove by scientific evidence
that all living things were created by Allah.
This shows us that science and religion are not conflicting sources of information, but that, on the contrary, science is a method that verifies the absolute truths provided by religion. The clash between religion and science can only hold true for certain religions that incorporate some superstitious elements as well as divine sources. However, this is certainly out of the question for Islam, which relies only on the pure revelation of Allah. Moreover, Islam particularly advocates scientific enquiry, and announces that probing the universe is a method to explore the creation of Allah. The following verse of the Qur'an addresses this issue;
Do they not look at the sky above them? How We have built it and adorned it, and there are no rifts therein? And the earth - We have spread it out, and set thereon mountains standing firm, and caused it to bring forth plants of beauteous kinds (in pairs). And We send down from the sky blessed water whereby We give growth unto gardens and the grain of crops. And tall palm-trees, with shoots of fruit-stalks, piled one over another. (Surah Qaf, 6-7, 9-10)
As the above verses imply, the Qur'an always urges people to think, to reason and to explore everything in the world in which they live. This is because science supports religion, saves the individual from ignorance, and causes him to think more consciously; it opens wide one's world of thought and helps one grasp the signs of Allah self-evident in the universe. Prominent German physicist Max Planck said that "everyone who, regardless of his field, studies science seriously is to read the following phrase on the door of the temple of science: 'Have faith'". According to him, faith is an essential attribute of a scientist.26
All the issues we have treated so far simply put it that the existence of the universe and all living things cannot be explained by coincidences. Many scientists who have left their mark on the world of science have confirmed, and still confirm this great reality. The more people learn about the universe, the higher does their admiration for its flawless order become. Every newly-discovered detail supports creation in an unquestionable way.
The great majority of modern physicists accept the fact of creation as we set foot in the 21st century. David Darling also maintains that neither time, nor space, nor matter, nor energy, nor even a tiny spot or a cavity existed at the beginning. A slight quick movement and a modest quiver and fluctuation occurred. Darling ends by saying that when the cover of this cosmic box was opened, the tendrils of the miracle of creation appeared from beneath it.27
Besides, it is already known that almost all the
founders of diverse scientific branches believed in Allah and
His divine books. The greatest physicists in history, Newton,
Faraday, Kelvin and Maxwell are a few examples of such scientists.
In the time
of Isaac Newton, the great physicist, scientists believed that
the movements of the heavenly bodies and planets could be explained
by different laws. Nevertheless, Newton believed that the creator
of earth and space was the same, and therefore they had to be
explained by the same laws. He expanded on this view in his book
stating that the perfect system of the sun and planets could only
survive under the control and dominance of a mighty and wise being.28
As is evident, thousands of scientists who have been doing research in the fields of physics, mathematics, and astronomy since the Middle Ages all agree on the idea that the universe is created by a single Creator and always focus on the same point. The founder of physical astronomy, Johannes Kepler, stated his strong belief in God in one of his books in which he declared that we, as poor, inadequate servants of God, have to see the greatness of God's wisdom and might and submit ourselves to Him.29
The great physicist, William Thompson (Lord Kelvin), who founded thermodynamics, was also a Christian who believed in God. He had strongly opposed Darwin's theory of evolution and totally rejected it. He explained shortly before his death that when it looks at the origins of life, science certainly confirms the existence of that Great Power.30
One of the professors of physics at Oxford University, Robert Mattheus states the same fact in his book published in 1992 where he explains that DNA molecules were created by God. Mattheus says that all these stages proceed in a perfect harmony from a single cell to a living baby, then to a little child, and finally to an adolescent. All these events can be explained only by a miracle, just as in all the other stages of biology. Mattheus asks how such a perfect and complex organism can emerge from such a simple and tiny cell and how a glorious HUMAN is created from a cell even smaller than the dot on the letter i. He finally concludes that this is nothing short of a miracle.31
Some other scientists who admit that the universe is created by a Creator and who are known by their cited attributes are:
23.
Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, Henry Lincoln, The Messianic Legacy,
Gorgi Books, London: 1991, p. 177-178.
|
|
|
