The Role of Non-Muslims in Islamic Development

From these few examples, it is clear that nonMuslims are also helpful to the cause of Islam in many ways. Islamic development is such a universal process that all Muslim and non-Muslim forces contribute towards its fulfillment. This aspect of a role for those other than Muslims in the development of Islam serves a moral end as well. It makes Muslims sympathetic towards the rest of the world so that the hearts of Muslims are filled with love for others instead of hate, enmity and distrust. The contribution of non-Muslims to Islam has not been of a temporary nature. It has continued throughout Islamic history. In present times these contributions made by non-Muslims, especially in the field of scientific discoveries, have been far greater than ever before. What are these scientific discoveries? They are, in actual fact, the discoveries of nature. Nature, or in the words of the Quran, “all the things of the heavens and the earth” are signs of God. Accordingly, all the things of the universe serve as scientific argument for Islamic teachings. In this respect the discoveries of nature are in fact the discoveries of the divine realities, which testify to the truth of the teachings of Islam. I have gone into considerable detail on this point in other books I have written. Here I wish to give only one example to illustrate my point.