Humanity in a New Age

Shah Waliullah of Delhi of Tawheed, these phenomena began to be explained in terms of the actions of a single God. In the age that followed, various natural phenomena began to be explained purely in terms of cause and effect for the first time. In the 16th century, the phenomena of Nature were subjected to scientific investigation. Galileo (15641642) studied the moon, the planets and other celestial bodies. He realised that Nature works according to such firmly established laws that its movements could be explained with mathematical precision. According to him, the Book of Nature is written in mathematical form. Despite opposition from the Church, this trend of thought gathered momentum. By the 17th century, numerous scholars in Europe were seeking to provide a mechanical or materialistic interpretation of natural phenomena. This mechanical philosophy came to be the dominant theme of 17th century science. In the 18th century, Isaac Newton took this intellectual process to its culmination. His Principia was published in Latin in 1687, about 75 years before Shah Waliullah’s death. The book appeared in English in 1729. While scholars had long discussed space, time, gravity and