Quran And Rationalism

THE QURAN AND RATIONALISM

Cheriyamundam Abdul Hameed Madani

NICHE OF TRUTH 2000

(English) The Quran and Rationalism Author: Cheriyamundam Abdul Hameed Madani

Contents......

Translator: Biju Abdul Qadir Rights Reserved First Published : April 1999 English Edition : June 2000 Cover Design : FASTCom, Cochin Typesetting & Translation : FASTCom, Cochin Printing: Poineer Offset, Cochin-20 Publishers: Niche of Truth, Kalabhavan Road, Ernakulam

Director’s Message...............................................

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Translator’s Foreword..........................................

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Introduction..........................................................

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Materialism and Creation Theory........................... 31 Man - In the Quran and Rationalism...................... 34

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Misunderstandings, Accusations............................

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In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.

I slam,

which ever continues to attract people of intelligence, has nevertheless, been subjected to criticism in all ages. Indeed, lakhs of such critical books have been brought out. Amongst these, however, there also exists books which, in the guise of a commending nature, have only sought to lay out an array of accusations. All criticism should eventually find its origin either in genuine ignorance or in arrogance. Furthermore, the circumstances in which the critics themselves lived also affects, and paves the way for, criticism. Ignorance, by itself, can be rectified with ease. But to seek to correct those, who feign sleep in the grip of arrogance will be sheer foolishness. It is relevant, however, to study the nature of criticisms and accusations that have been laid upon Islam. To date, the

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criticism due to ignorance which has come forth all over the world falls into two categories. One: the fundamental sources of Islam have been criticised due to the lack of appreciation of their actual meaning and import. Indeed, there have been those who, for purposes of study, selectively take out the narrations or incidents from the Quran, or the practices of the prophet, in a fashion that was completely out of context. There have been those who never understood the context. There have been those who knew not the idea behind the legal prescriptions. Yet others there were who failed to understand the relationship between the incidents, laws and narrations. All of these people may naturally falter in their understanding of Islam. Two: some people who mistook all practices among the Muslims to be the very manifestation of Islam ended up conjuring the idea that the malpractices amongst Muslims were, in fact, the very shortcomings of Islam itself. But, surely, there must exist various types of followers in the case of any ideology, whatsoever: those who followed it in its totality, those who accepted it partially and those who donned the guise of ideology merely for the sake of worldly interests. Indeed, many acts of many followers can turn out to be against the religion. It is, therefore, unwise to see in the failings of society the weakness of ideology. In both cases, all criticism stand on the flimsiest of grounds. The duty of the intellectual will be to seek to study in depth, any ideology through its real and fundamental sources. Prejudices will undoubtedly stand as an impedient

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in the execution of this duty. It is for the same reason that victory can be reserved only for those who have cast aside their arrogance and prejudices to understand Islam with the straightforwardness of the intellect which is the highest requirement. The Quran’s invitation goes thus: “Give glad tidings to those of My servants who pay heed to the words with care and who follow but the very best therein. It is they whom Allah will guide to the right path. Indeed, it is they who are the intelligent.” This small book is dedicated to those who, in their ignorance, had criticized or misunderstood Islam. This is the book form of a speech by Cheriyamundam Abdul Hamid Madani, a renowned writer, orator and scholar of Kerala. Abdul Hamid Madani provides, herein, a succinct reply to the rationalists who had come on to the scene with their scathing criticism against the Holy Quran. May Allah enable us through His blessings to understand, and to live by, the truth O Allah! May this work be accepted as a virtuous deed. May all shortcomings and faults thereof be forgiven!

Director

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TRANSLATOR’S FOREWORD

E ver since it broke out onto the historical scene, nearly fourteen hundred years ago, the Holy Quran has remained a book that has caught the attention of the world in ways that have been truly remarkable for the variety of responses that it elicited. To an ever growing group of millions upon millions of its believers, the Quran epitomizes the very word of God as revealed to His last messenger. As such, it represents all that is holy and sacred; perfect and complete, even as it should be for the guidance of all humanity that is to come right upto the end of the world. Indeed, an impartial scrutiny will scarce hide the obvious perfection that it does embody. Notwithstanding the admiring millions, whether blind or otherwise, of its supporters today, there has continued to exist

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a sustained opposition to the Holy Quran; making it, in one way , a very live subject indeed. In fact this hostility, again whether blind or otherwise, has existed right from day one of the revelation. And as the Quran was brought forth piecemeal, bit by bit, over a span of twenty three world - transforming years, Muhammad ( ), the vehicle of that revelation had to face the onslaught of the enemies of his message with an endurance and strength of will, and of the intellect, that spoke volumes for the truth in his claim of being the messenger of God. After Muhammad ( ), too, the Quran has continued to stir millions of souls as well as controversies - controversies that were mostly the insinuations of its envious opponents. It is, indeed, doubtful that a greater number of people, of men and women; people of the greatest devotion and faith, of surpassing intelligence and profound wisdom, have ever been raised forth, or rather, raised themselves, in defence of a single book as was the case with the Holy Quran down the annals of history upto the present day. Through books, speeches, articles and debates, they defended the word of God and laid bare the barest of facts that the Holy Quran can never ever be successfully challenged by all, and any, standards known to impartial scholarship. More wonderful still is the realization that there is perhaps no other scripture in the world which actually calls for an impartial scrutiny of the truth of its own message. ‘Have they not considered the Quran with care?’ asks the Quran. ‘Had it been from any other than God they would have found in it many an inconsistency.’ Despite the most vigorous and unstinting attacks of its adversaries, the challenge of the Quran has remained as fresh today as it was fourteen hundred years ago when it had openly

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declared: “And if ye are in doubt concerning that which We have revealed to Our servant, then bring forth a single chapter like thereunto.And if ye cannot - and of a surety ye cannot then fear the fire whose fuel is men and stones prepared for the disbelievers.” The list of those who have laboured to tarnish the image of the Quran is long and impressive. Ranging from the ordinary simple-minded opponent to the most celebrated of poets, writers, intellectuals and even scientists, the Quran has been sought to be disproved, without any degree of success, however, by a large number indeed. Included in this, rather dubious, hall of fame is the rationalist and his theory of Rationalism both of which actually forms the subject matter of this small treatise. If we understand Rationalism to be a theory of knowledge that bases itself on the firm foundations of rational, or rather reasoned thinking, it is exceedingly strange that the Holy Quran, which so often calls upon its reader to observe the phenomena of nature and to ponder over its working; which ever declares that it is a guidance for ‘those who reflect’ and for ‘those who give thought’, should have actually come in for the criticism of the rationalist. Did not Muhammad ( ) himself say that ‘God hath not created anything better than (the reasoning of) the intellect?’ Indeed, to the mind of this writer, at least, the confrontation between the so-called rationalists and the Quran represents one of the more unnecessary and unsavoury ironies in the history of intellectual development. Perhaps, it would be more correct to say that the confrontation is actually between the truth of the Quran and the falsehood inherent in the vested interests of the

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pseudo-rationalist. For Rationalism in its positive sense can never he antithetical to the message of the Quran. As Eduard Montet remarked in his La propagande chrestiene et es adversares Musulmans: ‘Islam is a religion that is essentially rationalistic in the widest sense of this term, considered etymologically and historically. The definition of rationalism as a system that bases religious beliefs on principles furnished by reason applies to it exactly. It is true that Muhammed who was an enthusiast and possessed also the ardour of faith and the fire of conviction, the precious quality that he transmitted to so many of his disciples, brought forward his reform as a revelation; but this kind of revelation is only one form of expostion, and his religion has all the marks of a collection of doctrines founded on the data of reason... A creed so precise, so stripped of all theological complexities and consequently so accessible to the ordinary understanding might be expected to possess, and does indeed possess, a marvellous power of winning its way into the consciences of men.’ The present work is the book form of a speech that was made by the author, Cheriyamundam Abdul Hamid Madani, who is one of the more well-known figures of the Islamic movement in Kerala. Delivered originally in the Malayalam language, his has been a commendable defence of the Quran against the pseudo-rationalists of our day. The questions that he addresses, and answers, form some of the more common criticisms laid against the Quran by the rationalists. His presentation has been scholarly while yet striving, as he has been, to retain the lucidity and flow demanded of a convincing and coherent speech. From the unchallenged linguistic beauty

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of the Quran to the vivid expositions on the nature of the universe and the heavenly bodies that it harbours within its confines - which finds precise mention in the Quran - the author has sought to maintain a scholarly distance from personal affectations of any kind. Furthermore, in his subsequent explanation of the need for an external agency or a First Cause as derived from Einstenian physics; of the intricate phenomena of nature that sustains life on earth; of the position of man in the Quran and in Rationlism, he, indeed, takes home the sword to the rationalist. Finally, in a somewhat abrupt ending of an, otherwise, excellent speech, he lays bare the facts to dispel the accusations of the rationalist against the Quran in the matter of the rights of women, of polygamy and of slavery. Translation is never an easy task and when the subject happens to be a speech of an extempore nature it becomes all the more difficult. Nevertheless, the translator has striven to present as faithful a version of the original oration as was possible. No fault can be found in the flow and beauty of the actual presentation even if anything is found wanting in the translation. The shortcomings in the translation will be the burden of the translator alone. Much credit for this translation goes to Prof. C.A. Babu of Al-Ameen College, Edathala, for his patient proof-reading and editing. Credit is also due to Mr. V.A. Mohammed Ashrof whose encouragement and help has been considerable. There is also a debt of gratitude to the staff of FASTCom Communications, who have been instrumental in the tedious job of type-setting of the entire manuscript. Lastly, it would be sufficient reward for the humble work of all those involved if God were to make of this small treatise a significant step towards the compelling appreciation of the value of His word.

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INTRODUCTION

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he Holy Quran is today a book whose traslations are easily accessible in all languages. A book that has been considered, by Muslims, to be the most invaluable treasure that mankind has ever been endowed with. It has remained a book that has been unconquered, for fourteen centuries, by the challenges posed by the antagonists of Islam. It is not for the first time that the spearhead of Rationalism has been turned against it. As was the case in the northern parts of the world, our country, too, stands witness to the fact that it was the greatest opponents of the Holy Quran who were to eventually become its greatest supporters. Howsoever that may be, there yet continues to be a section of the Muslims themselves who have not subjected the Holy Quran to a study in all the

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seriousness that it deserved; even to the present day. Based on the flimsiest hearsay, an even smaller section continues to harbour within themselves a completely distorted idea, as regards the Quran.

Arabian literature.

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How, then, is the Holy Quran to be understood? One way to do that would be to carry out a comparative analysis with the other existing scriptures in the world. Another way would be to subject its linguistic specialities and literary beauty to a closer scrutiny. The authenticity of its contents as well as its practicality, too, should be the other factors that must be evaluated. Mankind has at its disposal, all the religious texts that are in the Indian, Chinese, Persian, Egyptian and Hebrew languages. Beside these, there are numerous other world classics that include poems and stories as well. But which among these can claim for itself the ability to lead forward humanity, as a whole, in the varied fields of its life along the straight path of the faith and action simultaneously? Although not in the form of complete books, literary works were extant in the Arabic language even before the Holy Quran, right from the code of the emperor Hammurabi to the Muallaqath which was a collection of poetry. Arabic literature has been enriched with many valuable works after the advent of the Holy Quran also. There were also the world famous Arabian classics to reckon with. The works of poetry of authors from Jarir to Jibraan, the prose literature of scholars from Jaahidh to Taha Hussain: these were to be the invaluable gems of

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Then, as now, there continues to exist a vociferous opposition to the literary value of the Holy Quran. There has also been no dearth of people who, in praising the GraecoRoman literature and the Egyptian and Persian civilizations, have taken them to the greatest heights. The fact remains, however, that there has not been another book to rival the Holy Quran in having ascertained the destiny of the Arabic language and the very course of world civilization itself. A linguistic appreciation can only serve to highlight the point that the language of the Holy Quran is, in itself, the modern Arabic language. The formation of a few novel technical usages aside, we can say that the Arabic language of fourteen centuries past is seen to have not faced any basic changes even today. Furthermore, as a dynamic and living language that has actively met, over the ages, the exigencies of a changing communication scenario, it is completely free of any shortcoming whatsoever. A book is revealed in the dialect of fourteenth century Hijaaz. It was a time when the Arabic language had regional variations of its dialect. But, thenceforth, the Arabic language was to have but one single dialect alone. That book had obtained for that dialect the very status of immortality itself. Along with the Holy Quran, its language too attained to its eternal blossoming of youth. The idea will be made more clear with a few comparisons - comparisons which show how, in history, other classics were left behind in the lurch as their language moved on ahead of them. The linguistic style of the

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Greek with which Homer’s Illiad and Odyssey were written, the style of the Persian in which was written Zend Avesta of Zoroaster, the style of the Tamil in which Tiru Kural was written, the style of the Sanskrit with which Mahabharath was written, the style of the English of Shakespeare: none of these dialects are the living languages of today. This fact, when evaluated properly, can only lead to the acceptance of the incomparable nature of the Holy Quran. The Holy Quran’s has been a literary style that stands distinguished in the Arabic language. A style remarkable for its impeccable balance between prose and poetry. It has not been a few who have attempted to create literary works using that most inimitable of linguistic expressions. Nevertheless, they were never able to achieve any degree of success in their endeavour. All, except one, of its chapters begin with the verse Bismillahi Rahimani Raheem. Look at its preface or The Fathiha. There is mention, therein, neither of the context in which it was written nor of the nature of its contents. On the contrary, however, nothing has been left out to make of the preface a serious call and exhortation to study a scripture that is of the utmost importance. Look at the first chapter that follows after the preface of the Holy Quran! The chapter which begins in the name of the Most Merciful God starts, thus: ‘Alif-Lam-Meem. This, indeed, is the Book wherein there is no doubt.’ Alif, Lam and Meem are three characters of the Arabic alphabets. These are some of the most repeated alphabets of the language. Indeed, all texts in Arabic are but the combination of these alphabets. However, none of the

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authors of such texts have ever dared, with any degree of certitude, to lay claim to the complete veracity of their own work. But the Holy Quran has declared, at the very outset, that it, in itself, is Al Kitab or ‘the Book’ in which there is no doubt. The mighty changes in the world, wrought by the Holy Quran, and its ability to overcome all the contemporary civilizations of the day will serve to prove the genuineness of its claim. Which other classic work in the Arabic language has so survived the vicissitudes of the ages and managed, at the same time, to continue to ever remain as the foundation of true guidance for millions of the human race, in the domain of word, thought and deed, and that too, despite the changes that sweep over the centuries? The Holy Quran then dwells upon the nature of its contents. “It is a guidance for those who are ever conscious of God.” Even the rationalists, who tend to let fly their arrows of criticism against the Holy Quran, do not deny the fact that the well-regulated life of a believer in the Holy Quran, who follows the commandments mentioned therein, never goes astray or is spoiled. Those who claim that the Holy Quran is medieval, backward, an obstacle to progress and the like have never - not even once - ventured to study the matter in some depth. Take a look at the legal decrees in the Holy Quran! All mankind is to be shown kindness and mercy, the surplus of one’s earned wealth, that comes beyond one’s needs, must be spent on those who are poor and destitute in a fashion that has been exactly prescribed, the orphans and the downtrodden are to be helped, parents are to be treated with the utmost respect and care; indeed, they are to be supported

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and aided in their old age, children are to be shown kindness and love, one’s speech and gait must bespeak of humility, others must be thought of, and talked of, in favourable terms, the purity of the marriage must be well guarded, men and women are to observe modesty in their talk, behaviour and apparel. Nobody has yet claimed that any of these observances are irrational, an obstacle to progress, or is unfit for the high status of humanity. It is, indeed, strange to note that it is the very same people, who had cried out that religion was the enemy of science, who have now acknowledged most of these values in their own concept of morality i.e., the Socialist Morality as they name it. The very same observance, if proclaimed in the name of God is found to be backward! If in the name of the socialist ideologue, progressive! Strange, indeed, are their ways! Now look at the prohibitions of the Holy Quran! Kill no man unjustly, spill not even a drop of blood without justice, do not commit adultery, do not slander chaste women, do not commit theft, do not drink intoxicants, do not gamble, do not be a spendthrift, do not misappropriate the wealth of the orphan, do not tamper with the rights of the destitute, do not lie, do not abuse, do not cheat, do not adulterate, do not backbite and slander, do not entertain jealousy and malice, do not commit injustice in the matter of weights and measures, do not take or give in interest. Such, then, is the nature of the prohibitions of the Holy Quran. It is felt that none, not even the rationalist, would come out with the declaration that these prohibitions are but taboos which only serve to curtail the

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freedom and progress of man and that these are but the most outdated of injunctions. This is so because even the materialists of our day realize that no society, which accepts the insinuation of the Satan as its guide, can ever hope to survive. It is also for the same reason that they have now ventured to concoct a separate religion of humanism by borrowing wholesale from the Divine Guidance while at the same time, openly rejecting God. Now, if it is the expositions of the Holy Quran pertaining to nature, life and man, and not its commandments or prohibitions, that are against rational thought, then we can proceed, henceforth, to a factual discussion of the same. What is the essence of the Quranic vision? One of the most important concepts of the Islamic vision has been the fact that the entire universe has not come into being by itself and that all in it follow the most meticulously planned system of laws created by an Almighty Creator. Another crucial facet continues to be the vision of singular devotion to the Creator and the free will as well as the duties of man. The other fundamental issues revolve around the belief in Divine Revelation, the Soul, the Angels, the Devil and the concepts of Hell and Paradise. It is the contention of the rationalists that all these are superstitions contrary to science and rational thought and that this ‘irrational’ Quran was but the fabrication of the prophet Muhammad ( ) who had sought to use it for the fulfilment of his own vested interests. However, the rationalists have not pointed out any law in the fields of science, or philosophy, which has been contradicted by Divine

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revelation. Has science conclusively proved that the conglomeration of matter in the effulgent, burning stars, has, through a process of consistent and continuous evolution, finally developed into the human brain - the highest form of living matter - without the aid of any external agency whatsoever? Has there been any law in philosophy that has sought to establish the idea that the vast system of the physical universe, which spans the space occupied by the entities from the Nebulae to the plant-animal kingdoms, has come into being by coincidence without the planning and control of any? It is on the basis of the law of conservation of mass and energy that the rationalists, today, seek to establish the spontaneity and self-sustaining capability of the Universe. It has been the contention of this law that energy is but the differentiated form of matter and that matter can be converted into energy even as energy can be transformed into matter. This theory, however, points to the inevitability of the belief in God. Indeed, it was for this very reason that Albert Einstein, the formulator of the concept of Energy-Mass interconvertability, himself had expressed the necessity of an unknown, but calculating, Power behind the delicate, yet complex; systematic, yet magnificently ordered, functioning of all the entities in the universe. The reason for such a necessity? Atoms of any element matter can, in no wise, be transformed into energy in the absence of an external agency. Moreover, no atom can assist another in converting it into pure energy without the aid of an external source. In other words, if mass is to be converted into energy, the process of fission, or fusion, must occur. These processes, in turn, would

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require the intervention of an external agency. The fundamental point, however, is not about the possibility of the conversion of energy into mass by any means. The basic question, in fact, revolves around whether bands of pure energy can be changed into mass without any influence of an external force. If it is conceded that any transformation of a physical nature necessitates the process of fusion, or of fission or of acceleration, the requirement of an outside force, for the removal of the inertia of the basic matter and initiating the movement of the wheel of evolution, becomes inevitable. Merely exposing the movement within the basic atom will not be sufficient. For even a rock or piece of iron, which is made up of the conglomeration of billions of such basic atoms, is, after all, inanimate in their existence. Even if they were to possess an intricate order, it certainly cannot come about in a haphazard, or unplanned manner. For instance, to state that the dense matter which exploded in the Big Bang event gave rise to the formation of stars, planets and satellites, all of which soon developed their very own identities and peculiarities that were truly unique in themselves, while yet evolving of their own, the regulatory motion and orbits with which they were to be associated, through the ‘glorious’ uncertainty begotten of the randomness of a chance happening is but to state what is, by the standards of probability theory and the Law of Causality, in its entirety, untenable. This discussion may proceed with a greater degree of clarity if carried out in the light of the facts about the solar system that mankind has so far ascertained. Right from its birth, the sun has ever kept on burning. Planets and satellites,

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on the other hand, do not burn. In fact, the major part of these bodies have been cooled and their temperature subdued. With the exception of the earth all other planets are subject to the cosmic rays and ultraviolet radiations emitted by the sun. As for the earth, it has been, to a great extent, wellprotected from the hazards of ultraviolet radiation by the atmosphere which blankets its surface in a number of layers. Indeed, in the absence of the atmosphere which exists as the earth’s protecting blanket - as its very own, invisible roof no life, whether of the plant or the animal kingdom, would have originated or progressed on its surface. Had it not been for this atmospheric roof no cloud, rain or wind would ever have been possible here. Now, look carefully upon even the smallest segment of this earth. One among the plants - all of which grow upon the same soil, use the very same water, draw the nutrients for their growth from the same fertilizer - is found to taste bitter in its fruit. The fruit of yet another plant is found to be sweet and another has sour fruit. The flower of one plant is red while its fruit is yellow in colour. Yet another has its flower white while its fruit is green; a third one has blue flowers and red fruits. Different colours, distinct tastes. Some plants yield their fruit several times a year, some only once, others once in twelve years. Yet another plant blossoms only once in thirty six years after which it dies out. The sweetness of the orange is not to be found in the soil or in the water or in the fertilizer. The acidity of lime, too, is absent there. The red colour of the tomato or the yellowish hue of the banana is also nonexistent therein. The typical characteristics of shape, scent

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and flavour of these fruits are manifested as per the unwritten law prescribed in their very own genetic code which preserves the hereditary traits of each generation. Observe the various life forms that range from the microscopic to the human being. We witness diverse systems of reproduction, differing tastes and preferences, varying systems of habitation, the bond of the ecological cycle that holds together the life-forms in the preservation of the equilibrium of nature and of the immunity from environmental degradation. Indeed, the animal kingdom is the very melting pot of innumerable wonders! Look at man himself : the possessor of an incomparable freedom of existence worthy of his status of vicegerency on earth; of an intelligence that enables him to perceive and utilize effectively all that comes within the range of his eyes, hands and ears; of an ability of conveying to his own species, through languages, the ideas of the mind and, that too, with an originality, a clarity and a comprehensiveness all of its own; of a lasting script that helps convert the sayings and speeches into permanently inscribed lines; of clothes that provide for the personality of the wearer; of means of transportation and of other innumerable specialities. Specialities, all of which, serve only to further distinguish, and maintain aloof, their position from amongst the tens of thousands of other existing life-forms. Can any one say with certainty that these phenomena of nature, which function in the most wonderfully systematic fashion, evolved from the coincidental breaking-up, or conjoining, of different bodies?

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The Holy Quran has repeatedly asserted that the coincidence - whatever the extent to which it can be stretched - will never be able to exist as the convincing reason for the systematic functioning of the universe. Indeed, this fact, and this fact alone, has been the very cause of the hostility of the rationalists towards the Holy Quran. The Holy Quran says: “Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the earth; in the alternation of the night and the day; in the sailing of the ships through the ocean for the profit of mankind; in the rain which Allah sends down from the skies, and the life which He gives therewith to an earth that is dead; in the beasts of all kinds that He scatters through the earth; in the change of the winds, and the clouds which they trail like their slaves between the sky and the earth; (here) indeed are Signs for a people that are wise.” (2:164). All the facts mentioned in this verse constitute the clearest of the pageants of nature that must compel the mind of any intelligent person in any age. Can any among the intelligent claim that all these phenomena occur as the result of mere coincidence? Look at a section in which the Holy Quran points out the reason, and the primary purpose, for the worship of God: “O ye people! Worship your Guardian Lord, Who created you and those who came before you that ye may become righteous, Who has made the earth your couch,

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And the heavens your canopy; and sent down rain from the skies; and brought forth therewith fruits for your sustenance; then set not up rivals unto Allah when ye know (the truth).” (2:21,22). Here, the Holy Quran talks not of the God of a particular sect, but of the God of all mankind in all ages and of the Lord of the entire universe itself. If man were to submit to that God and order his life in accordance with His guidance, it would serve to profit him and him alone; never God Himself. It becomes obvious that those who claim that man need not work for the benefit of God have, in fact, misunderstood the concept themselves. Man is enabled to avoid sins by submitting the whole of his life to the decrees of God. What if the case was different? If it were otherwise, man would find himself devastated in the pit-falls of his own making. “ ...Thus doth Allah make clear to you (His Law), lest ye err. And Allah hath knowledge of all things.” (Holy Quran 4:176) What then should be the reason for man’s indebtedness to God? Firstly, it is that he has been endowed with a special existence. Then comes the fact that he has been provided with the requirements for his all-round growth. In this context, special mention must be made of the earth which has been spread out even as a carpet, the sky which has been made as a roof and fruits which have been

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provided abundantly. Upto this day, there has been no indication of a place, wheresoever, within the piercing surveillance of science, wherein man could stretch out and rest on what would be the seeming comfort of a bed: a bed on which he may rest free of the hazards of deadly cosmic rays, without having his head broken by falling materials,

without the need for carrying around an oxygen cylinder wherever he may go. This, indeed, has been the speciality of the earth. If only the rationalists who attack Islam with the flimsiest of allegations that Muhammad’s earth is like a mat spread out or is as round as the circle, had ever so much as I understood just the meaning of the Arabic term Firaash used in the verse 2:22 ! What has been the reason for the opposition of environmental scientists towards supersonic jets? It has ever been due to the fear that the fissures which these planes create within the atmospheric layers cause the infiltration of lethal cosmic rays on to the earth and thereby exposes it to piercing materials which would ultimately lead to the annihilation of all life on earth. For it is these layers of the atmospheric roofing which burns out and destroys the incoming meteorites. It is also the atmosphere which is responsible for filtering out the harmful cosmic radiations. The fluctuations in the

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atmospheric condition further results in the change of the seasons and in the rains themselves. The life-sustaining Oxygen and the life-giving water of the earth are two of the most incomparable and indispensable constituents of nature. Both of these we receive, unstintingly, from the atmospheric roofing overhead. Of that roofing the Holy Quran states elsewhere that, “And We have made the skies as a canopy well guarded: yet do they turn away from the Signs which these things (point to)!” (H.Q. 21:32).

MATERIALISM AND THE CONCEPT OF CREATION

t was for facing the unanswerable questions which were encountered by mere materialism that the theory of dialectical materialism was formulated. Karl Marx was the founder of this concept. The crux of this theory is that new things and species emerge from the contradictions within the varying forms of matter. Those unaffected by lapses of the intellect can only find themselves lost in the jargon of the philosophers of dialectical materialism who try in vain to reconcile themselves to the idea that there exists a dualism between the tree and its seed, the mother and her child, and the hen and her eggs; that the mango is, in fact, the very negation of the mango-tree and that the egg is similarly the negation of the hen herself.

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The Holy Quran has, however, explicitly stated that all material things, including the plant-animal species were created by God in pairs. Indeed, the world of matter owes its sustenance and progress to the co-operative and symbiotic nature of the creatures that have been created in pairs with all the rich diversity that they represent in themselves. The Divinely ordained sense of mutuality and co-operation is, in fact, the projection of the grandest norm in nature; never the contradictory insinuation begotten of perverted minds. To a keen observer of the pairs that exists in nature, the hard fact of experience is that it is, indeed, the sense of co-operation which permeates the vivid variety and not the conflicting contradictions, that form the summum bonum of nature. If the evolution of the plants and the animals had all occurred merely as a product of chance happenings and not through the agency of a purposeful planning, it stands contrary to all the laws of causality that the entire range of Genus and Species should have evolved in pairs. The rationalists have mocked at the religious view using the old story of a pope who had grossly miscalculated the age of the earth. However, the Holy

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Indeed, the Holy Quran points to an earth that is round and rotating.

Quran has not spoken of anything that may seem irrational when it comes to the same subject. There is nothing unbelievable, whatsoever, in the Quranic statement that the universe was created in six stages. Another declaration of the M Holy Quran has been that of the earth and the heavens being one unit of creation before God rent them asunder. Indeed, this assertion, in an age where there was not the slightest notion of the intricate relationship between the origins of the heavenly bodies and the earth, stands as one of the most lasting and powerful testimonies to the super-human quality of the Holy Quran. The reference to the two easts and two wests as well as to the rotation of the day around the night and the rotation of the night around the day are, indeed, proofs of the superhuman nature of the Holy Quran. These statements do not, in any way, refer to the flat or stationary nature of the earth.

Although some amongst the rationalists regard with contempt the statement of the Holy Quran to the effect that the mountains are the pegs that maintain the equilibrium of the earth, the seismographic studies carried out by soviet experts on the formation of lunar craters created by the impact of falling debris have led to the clear fact of the solid foundation which the mountains provide the earth with. The structure of the mountains which run deep into the earth as well as the role of the mountains in preserving the balance of the earth - both are, today, the subjects of deep study. The Holy Quran which refers to the sun as a lamp and the moon as a light indicates the profound idea of astronomy which would never have been known to any Arab of the seventh century. The sun does, indeed, burn like a lamp. The moon but reflects the light that falls upon it.

MAN - IN THE QURAN AND RATIONALISM

an, in the view of the rationalists, is but a species that emanated from a succeeding generation of the primates which coincidentally lost the tail, had the spinal cord erect and the structure of the jaw bone altered. The Holy Quran, however, helps man in discovering himself by pointing out the wonderful aspects of the human creation while highlighting the peaks of

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greatness that man can achieve as the most special, most beautiful and incomparable creation of God even as he can equally plunge to the depths and degradations of the darkness that is also before him. “Behold! thy Lord said to the angels: ‘I will create a vicegerent on earth.”(H.Q. 2:30) The Holy Quran recounts the declaration of God in connection with the creation of the first man: “And He taught Adam the name of all things..”(H.Q. 2:31) God enabled him in understanding the name and nature of all things and to master all in a fashion that aided him in the free fulfillment of his mission on earth. The Quran presents a very believable study of the nature in which man, of all the tens of thousands of animals, came into possession of the independent faculties and tremendous knowledge which are to be found in none of the others. Perhaps it is for traditional science to say that the stump of the lost tail of the ancestor further evolved into the ability and knowledge of man! “The Most Gracious! It is He Who has taught the Quran. He has created man : He has taught him an intelligent speech.” (H.Q. 55:1-4) “Proclaim! And thy Lord is most Bountiful, He Who taught (the use of) the Pen” (H.Q. 96:3,4)

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In making man really a man, in making man a civilized being, in making man a man of the letters, in making man a scientist, in all such cases words and writings play a crucial role all of their own. Not since time immemorial has a single one of the animals that inhabit the face of the earth in their tens of thousands ever uttered a word of a speech. Never have they made pictures or letters. It is only man, and man alone, who actually did both. And both combined to provide his life with an incomparable richness and vista of breathtaking vision. He was thus made the leader - the Khalifa - of the earth. Amongst the animals, it is only man who has employed the means of his transportation. It was he, and he alone, who wore clothes. In this context, too, it is but a very believable account which the Holy Quran presents. “We have indeed created man in the best of

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moulds, Then do We abase him (to be) the lowest of the low” (H.Q. 95:4-5) It is only when man submits his great abilities to a life

I of service that his existence finds its highest fulfillment and ‘

joy. When those same abilities are used in hurting and exploiting, man degrades himself to levels below that of the animals. In which other book can we find such an authoritative and factual exposition of the intricacies of human nature? Indeed, the Quranic vision of the objective of human life is rational; is ennobling and of the highest standard. The man who submit his whole life to God while on the sound soil of goodness, has already vouchsafed, as it were, the eternal nobility of existence both during his sojourn in this world as well as in the life hereafter. It is peace of mind and true satisfaction of the self which ennobles the life of a believer in

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God. The blessing of God forms his shelter and retreat in this world as well as in Paradise. All the seeming losses incurred by a believer is then turned into the highest gains. All sacrifices made are transformed into the greatest achievements. As for the rationalist, he ends up being a fool who wasted an entire lifetime for yet other fools like himself. The rationalist shows no hesitation, whatsoever, in attaining martyrdom as a member of a cohesive group that would strive for a better tomorrow even at the cost of their own lives. He has nothing to gain no matter whose head it is above which will rise this dawn of a good, or a bad, tomorrow. According to the rationalists, with his death any leader of a non-zero stature ends up as a zero after all. All the wreaths, memorials and reminders that follow are but myths, deception and the masks of hypocritical pretension. There is, however, one consolation: that he has not died; that he yet lives on in the hearts of millions of the masses. Indeed, Rationalism is nothing but the vain attempt to redress the rags of rebirth in a coloured and misleading hue. The rationality of the idea that the soul of the leader lives on after his death within the hearts of the people has not been established in the scriptures of rationalist philosophy. In any event, it is the picture of the greater leader of equality standing out, like a set of protruding teeth, in a virtual graveyard of equality itself. A much bigger zero amongst a gathering of zeroes.

MISUNDERSTANDINGS, ACCUSATIONS

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slam promotes human sacrifices and other superstitions.’ ‘Islam opposes the equality of women.’ ‘Islam has maintained slavery.’ The rationalists have attacked Islam with such and similar accusations. Where has the Holy Quran encouraged human scarifices? In fact, the Quran contains the reference to the test of Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice all before God, to the fact that he did not have to sacrifice his son and, instead, was only commanded by Allah to sacrifice an animal as a symbolic gesture. It is difficult to understand the exact portion here which is found to be unacceptable by the rationalists. If it is the opposition to the idea of sacrifice itself, it is indeed a most irrational stand. All of past history as well as contemporary events testify to the fact that it is only those who are prepared to sacrifice all their things of value, including their lives, who will ultimately attain an eventual and lasting victory. A warrior is always faced with the very real possibility of sacrificing his own life. Sometimes it will be his limbs that will have to be sacrificed. Whether in play or in seriousness many sacrifices will be required to attain victory. While a believer in religion is always alive to, and conscious of, the value of sacrifice, a rationalist but tends to fall in a swoon in the event of having to make one himself. There is the least consternation on the side of the rationalist if a man were to have illicit sexual relationship with more than one woman, if he were to enjoy the sight of the naked female body and if he were to make a merchandise

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of feminine charms. No such concern has, to date, been voiced or witnessed. The wife at home, the stenographer in the office, the guide in the journey, the call-girl at the hotel.... this list of plural female relationships has never been seen to have come in for the criticism of the rationalists. There have even been the rational giants who wrote about the idea that it is scientifically and physiologically a necessity to give vent to the impulses of the husband, who has been forced to starve sexually owing to the pregnancy, delivery, or monthly periods of his wife, at the caberrets. However, if a man were to accept more than one wife lawfully, responsibly and in keeping with justice, the rationalists come out with the view that this is a perversion and a gross immorality. The Quran has, conditionally, given the permission to marry upto four women. However, Islam permits polygamy only to the person who is certain that he will be able to show fairness to his wives. Some rationalists immediately ask the question as to why it was, then, that Islam disallowed polyandry? Polygamy is a system which invariably guarantees the knowledge of the identity of the father as well as the mother in the wedlock. But, what of Polyandry? Here, the father figure is but a vague representation. Clearly then, Islam allowed for a system that identifies the father and the mother. To the dubious credit of the rationalists, then, went the system which identifies not the father. When Islam made its re-entry onto the scene, slavery was a system that was rampant not only within the precincts of Arabia but also over all the other places on earth. Indeed, It had become ingrained within the very civilizational and

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economic ethos of that region. Thus it was that the messenger, pledged as he was to the intellectual transformation of the masses, sought first and foremost to remove the miseries that had become the lot of the slaves. To this end, the services rendered by the prophet and his followers stand beyond enumeration. Indeed, the Quran declared that the first hurdle in attaining to the Islamic solution for the problems facing humanity was the abolition of slavery. The Quran recommended the freeing of slaves as an act of expiation for many a sin. Under no circumstances was a Muslim to have the right to enslave a free man. Important too, is the fact that the Quran has not prescribed the making of slaves out of prisoners-of-war. In fact, the Quran has instructed that they were either to be let off or to be held solely for the ransom value they were worth. Women’s right to inheritance has been yet another of the points raised by the critics. But what of the economic duty of the woman? It has become the habit of the critics, now, to remain silent over that question. No matter what the role of the woman-whether it be as a daughter, or a sister, a wife or a mother or even a grand mother - Islam has never imposed upon her the duty of meeting the family’s living expenditure. The male who has come of age, however, is to bear the burden of his own as well as his family’s cost of living. It is only when this fact, too, is taken into account that the real justice shown to women by Islam becomes easily comprehensible. It is pertinent here to note the fact that C.P. Shreedharan had greatly praised the all-encompassing and just family laws of Islam in his exhaustive preface to the comparative study of sexuality in different cultures in the encyclopaedic work on sex education published by Moral

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