Two Aspects of the Scientific Revolution

view, the west’s discoveries enabled human beings to acquire almost unlimited material power. They were able to convert water into steam by which to power locomotives and invent automobiles and the aeroplane fuelled by petrol, and more recently, television and the internet, thus bringing global means of modern communication into existence. Owing to this access to the natural sciences, which the western countries had, they were able to gain material dominance in the world. One relevant excerpt from the Quran, a verse in chapter no. 21 of the Quran, tells of what will happen when Gog and Magog are let loose: They will “swarm down from every hillside, and they spread out, (leaping across every barrier of land and sea).” (21:96) It points to the phenomenon known as modern communications. By their discoveries in Nature, the West and other developed countries like Russia and China produced highly improved means of communication, which speeded up sending messages, human journeys, and the transportation of goods. The discovery of nature’s secrets is difficult for religious people because they hold everything sacred. That is why Gog and Magog were selected for this purpose. They were secular in the complete sense. That is why they could freely undertake research into nature and