Session 35 Notes
We will continue our study on reading the book of the universe alongside the Qur’an. We explored the observation of how the universe is expanding and related it to our own understanding of the meaning conveyed by the universe, which should expand accordingly. We improve our confidence from the meaning conveyed by the universe pointing to its source of existence. Similar to the universe expanding, the limitless layers of the meaning of the Speech of God: the Qur’an and human comprehension of the source of the existence (Iman, belief) are expanding as well.
Unfortunately, this meaningful side of the universe is hidden and covered up by the materialist interpretations of the universe and is fed to us through secularized ideology taught in schools. When the material scientists are discussing amongst themselves they acknowledge that they are only describing the process and not explaining the event. However, when they publish it to the masses their narrative changes to explaining the event mentioning “science will explain everything”. This trick has been at play starting from the late 19th century to our current 21st century.
From the late 20th century, philosophers have been declaring the universe to be silent, and doesn’t tell anyone anything. The trick is that they say I ask the universe what their reality is, what is the reality of life, why am I here, what am I going to do with my life and the universe doesn’t answer. They thus conclude that the universe is silent and now they themselves must find and interpret the answers. Philosophy nowadays leaves the explanation of the universe to the scientists who took over this responsibility from the philosophers.
Silent vs Speaking universe:
…أَنطَقَنَا ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَنطَقَ كُلَّ شَىْءٍۢ…
“…God who gives speech has given speech to us [as wel]”. (41:21)
The Qur’an declares that the universe is not silent but speaks. We can understand this using the analogy of a book where the universe is a book to be read. Reading the book is not enough as that is an analogy where the book is static, whereas the reality of the universe is not static. The universe is like a mirror which is again static but what it reflects is something dynamic. Now in our age, that is also not enough according to the Qur’anic concepts which presents to us that “this universe is speaking”, consciously speaking to me. The universe is consciously speaking to me through the way it is being brought into existence with obvious qualities of its Creator manifested on it. The continuous renewal, renovation of the universe is the continuous speech introducing its source of existence to conscious beings. As if it is screaming to make human beings look, see, and communicate with Him. We only need to pay attention to understand this speech.
The Qur’an keeps reminding us to pay attention. If we turn “deaf’, “dumb”, and “blind” to the message that the universe is declaring through its existence, the speech will seem to be “silent” for us. It is described in the phrase “صُمٌّ بُكْمٌ عُمْيٌ “ (they are deaf, dumb, blind.) (2:18) This means that while we are looking at the universe, observing it, we must pay attention to this continuous speech declaring that it is demonstrating the manifested qualities of its maker. For example, in spring many new varieties of beings are shouting to pay attention to their meanings that were missed in winter time: “My Creator loves you by giving existence to these flowers”. The birds, insects chirping, singing declare the news of their Creator as well. Every being in the universe is speaking and this speech is meant for conscious human beings unless like the materialists we turn blind and deaf to it.
As students of the Qur’an we must prepare ourselves for the challenges of the secularists of this age that declare the universe to be silent and science will explain everything. Science will help make our lives more comfortable and dependent on technological advances for sure. We must be careful and not fall into those who are unaware of the meaning of their living in this world: “We are Muslims, we believe in God, tell us now what should we do? We should follow a religious tradition and that’s it.” We must educate ourselves to be sure and confident of our beliefs by witnessing the creation around us.
When I am paying attention, I see the universe announcing to me the manifested qualities of their Creator. I must join in this announcement by the universe to harmonize my understanding of my Creator with it. As a conscious human being, I am endowed to represent the glorification of all beings. As the representative of the universe, I can glorify my Lord with my own spoken words: “Ya Qadir (All Powerful One over everything), Ya Musawwir (the only Form giver to every thing at every moment as they are changed continuously), Ya Jamil (Beautiful One who beautifies every thing), etc.”
When I read the Qur’an, I have to be concerned with what I gain from it. What are my concerns? What should I learn from what I am studying? Let’s study the following verse:
فَإِذَا قَرَأْتَ ٱلْقُرْءَانَ فَٱسْتَعِذْ بِٱللَّهِ مِنَ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنِ ٱلرَّجِيمِ
إِنَّهُۥ لَيْسَ لَهُۥ سُلْطَـٰنٌ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ
إِنَّمَا سُلْطَـٰنُهُۥ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ يَتَوَلَّوْنَهُۥ وَٱلَّذِينَ هُم بِهِۦ مُشْرِكُونَ
“When you recite the Qur’an, seek refuge with God from Satan, the accursed.
He has no power on those who believe and trust in their Lord;
his power is only on those who ally themselves with him and those who join partners with God.” (16:98-100)
The term “رَّجِيمِ” indicates something that is stoned, rejected, not acceptable, meaningless, having no reality at all. Those who read the Qur’an and then confirm it with the universe will see that there is a parallel message in the verses of the Qur’an as well as the meaning in the universe. The meaning must be compatible with each other. The baseless ideas (Satan’s power) is only with those who divert the message, making the universe speechless and declaring ideas that have no reality at all: “this happened by itself, the perfectly working universe came out of randomness.”
وَإِنِّى كُلَّمَا دَعَوْتُهُمْ لِتَغْفِرَ لَهُمْ جَعَلُوٓا۟ أَصَـٰبِعَهُمْ فِىٓ ءَاذَانِهِمْ وَٱسْتَغْشَوْا۟ ثِيَابَهُمْ وَأَصَرُّوا۟ وَٱسْتَكْبَرُوا۟ ٱسْتِكْبَارًۭا
“And indeed every time I invited them that You may forgive them, they put their fingers in their ears, covered themselves with their garments, persisted and were greatly arrogant” (71:7)
The term “أَصَرُّوا۟” indicates to stubbornly deny the acceptance of their Creator. They are the enemies of belief. Historically, there was a conflict between religion and science but now the materialists take verses from Revelation out of context as well taking them literally to play their tricks. Their targets started with Judaism and Christianity and as a consequence without studying Islam they included it as well in their denial. They declare the message of the sacred books of all religions as “mystical”. However, Islam is the source of discovering how to study the universe. The material scientists don’t want to see this and play tricks such as changing the names of Muslim scholars who studied the sciences in the universe; obstinately denying the need of a Creator. They are desperately trying to find some evidence for a creator in the universe but of course they cannot find it within the needy created beings which declares only their Creator.
إِلَّا مَنِ ٱسْتَرَقَ ٱلسَّمْعَ فَأَتْبَعَهُۥ شِهَابٌۭ مُّبِينٌۭ
“Any eavesdropper will be pursued by a clearly obvious flame” (15:18)
The “clearly obvious flame” refers to the way the things that exist in this universe are clearly rejecting the claims of people who do not want to accept their Creator. I have no right to misinterpret their existence. They describe the events and then claim that they are explaining things such as water is composed of Hydrogen and Oxygen. They agree that Hydrogen or Oxygen cannot give existence to water, yet they say science explains the formation of water: It is formed from the combination of hydrogen and oxygen atoms. There is no evidence in the universe to support the materialists’ unbelief that the combination itself causes another property to emerge. As the Qur’an declares the Hydrogen and oxygen need a creator to bring them into existence as well their act of combination and the molecule of water which is another new creation in the following moment. Nothing happens by itself as a result of an accident. Everything is changed in a perfectly ordered way and every moment of existence is a new act of creation realized by their Source of existence. If someone tries to steal the truth, mixes it with false ideas and makes it appear as the truth, every being in the universe challenges that with its “clearly obvious flame”, obvious to the human intellect. The stars, rain, seeds, flowers, trees, atoms, and molecules are all examples of “obvious flames”. We should study the Qur’an alongside the universe from an existential perspective where the existence of each being is seen as the “obvious flame” that brings me to the truth.
Declaring the bankruptcy of secular science by deceptive language
Wittgenstein, an influential philosopher to this age (died in 1951), is saying the fact that “anything exists at all rather than nothing” belongs to the realm of the mystical which is beyond what language and science can address.
Why beyond science? Materialist scientists label it the “big bang” whereas every atom is like a big bang coming into existence when it is studied with a free thinking mind. In their existence we can easily see the manifested qualities of its Maker in the way that they come into existence. How do you explain the existence of the thing or a physical event without referring to a Creator who is the Creator of the entire universe? Do they have any quality to exist by themselves, to make an order in their existence, to fulfill a perfect purpose? Why should studying the universe as it is really without conditioning the mind that they all exist by themselves be “mystical”? I am asking and I am wondering about a subject which directly concerns my human feelings. Without meaning I cannot live. Is there anything in the universe whose existence is meaningless? For example, I can read a book and get information and meaning which refers to the author. Since the author is not in the book, they say you cannot ask such a question as that is mystical, beyond the realm of science. Even a 4 year-old child would laugh at this logic but the scientists speak with overpowering confidence. The materialist scientists would describe the physicality of the book but the information and meaning which is abstract, therefore, not confirmable in the lab, so it becomes mystical, beyond the realm of science. Why should a scientist not use their brain to question the source of the meaning and purpose in the existence of the thing they study? They deny the meaning in the existence of beings that point to their Creator by not using human qualities to question the meaningful existence, how these meaningful beings come into existence in an amazing way.
Wittgenstein writes on science being unable to touch the deepest questions: 6.52 – “We feel that even if all possible scientific questions be answered, the problems of life have still not been touched at all. Of course there is no question left, and this is just the answer.”
There is no concern for human questions which is why he specifies “scientific questions” in his writings. Since science cannot answer about life, it cannot be put into a lab, they don’t have any answer to the meaning of life; so they declare the question about life is beyond the realm of science. Yet they claim that the materialistic way of studying science will answer all human questions. However, they can study a cell in a lab but not the life in it and its meaning. The Qur’an is very severe in its language for the deniers:
…إِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا كَٱلْأَنْعَـٰمِ ۖ بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلُّ سَبِيلًا
“…They are like animals, far worse than animals” (25:44)
Wittgenstein continues: On the inexpressibility of such questions: 6.5 – “For an answer which cannot be expressed, the question too cannot be expressed. The riddle does not exist. If a question can be asked at all, then it can also be answered”.
Isn’t the last sentence a contradiction? Since I have human questions, why do they have no answers and fall outside the realm of science. They are backed into a corner now and soon they will realize their fallacy, inshaAllah.
We must study the universe and the Qur’an alongside human feelings, human questions, human spirit all of which are sacred, alongside each other and expose these materialist tricks we are being told.