Opening the Closed Doors of the Universe

Opening the Closed Doors of the Universe

1986 6 June 5-6 Opening the Closed Doors of the Universe (451) There are several verses in the Quran which explain how everything in the universe is constantly engaged in praise and remembrance of God; everything provides a perfect example of submission to the Almighty; everything humbles itself before the Lord Most High. One such verse is given below:

“Do you not see that to God bow all things in the heavens and on earth: the sun and the moon and the stars, the mountains and the trees, the beasts and many men? Yet many have deserved His scourge. He who is humbled by God has none to honour Him. God does what He pleases” (22: 18).

The natural phenomena mentioned in this verse – the sun, the moon, the stars, the mountains, trees and animals – were, as the highly authoritative Quranic commentator, Ibn Kathir has observed, singled out because they were the very things that polytheists used to worship besides God. Far from being objects of worship, the Quran says, these things are objects of God’s creation; they are subservient upto Him and dependent upon Him. Their function should be studied carefully, for they provide mankind with a perfect model for his own worship of his Lord. Whereas nature follows the divine pattern universally and perfectly, only part of mankind follows suit. Man should look closely at the way nature operates, so that he too can mould his life in accordance with the pattern that his Creator has prescribed.

It was with the revelation of verses such as this that the Quran opened the way for scientific research into natural phenomena. While the objects of God’s creation were considered objects of worship, it was impossible for man to conduct objective research into their nature; for “God” cannot be studied, nor can His secrets be unveiled. The Quran unharnessed the human intellect by stressing that the sun, moon and stars – the very things that polytheists had considered objects of worship, were in fact objects of investigation. Man was now free, and indeed encouraged, to conduct research into their function and properties.

By refuting polytheism and setting up monotheism in its place, the Quran put paid to the idea that the phenomena of creation were sacrosanct; it now became possible to look at them as topics for scientific research. It was for this reason that in the early centuries of the Islamic era, the Muslims were in the forefront of every field of scientific learning. Their contributions to scientific progress were a sign of their having become imbued with the spirit of the Book of God. Their present backwardness in every field of science, and failure to adapt the lessons of nature to their own lives, are correspondingly indicative of their abandonment of Quranic teachings.