CLOSE-MINDEDNESS

For example: In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day, there are signs for people with intelligence, those who remember God standing, sitting, and lying on their sides, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth, (saying) Our Lord! You have not created all this in vain (without purpose), Glory be to You. (3: 190-91, 7: 176, 10: 24, 13: 3, 16: 11). This, we can say, was the intellectual seed, which is called in academic circles, the spirit of enquiry. It is this spirit of enquiry, which has played the greatest role in bringing about the age of science. It is the zeal to discover which has led man to knowledge. According to Toynbee and other world historians, this spirit of enquiry was the first and foremost prerequisite for the inauguration of the scientific era and the elimination of a superstitious outlook on nature and life. The Quran has specific verses calling man towards shunning superstition and encouraging him to think. The Prophet himself had dealt with dayto-day problems of life in accordance with this realistic approach taught by the Quran. Consequently the same realistic approach became an integral part of the frame of mind of his Companions. They all became curious, inquisitive and realistic in all matters of life. For example, once the Prophet passed by an oasis where he found some farmers who were date planters at work. When he asked what they were doing, he was told that they were pollinating the clusters of dates in order to produce a better yield. The Prophet expressed his disapproval of this process. Knowing this, the farmers immediately stopped it. But later on the Prophet was told that due to lack of proper pollination the yield had been very low as compared to the previous years. On hearing this, the Prophet replied. “You know your worldly matters better.” (Sahih al-Bukhari). In other words, experiment and observation should be the final criteria in such worldly matters. From the above example one can understand that Islam does not teach close-mindedness but rather desires one to be open-minded, so that one understands the importance of each branch of knowledge and strives to gain such knowledge instead of living in ignorance. o It is the spirit of enquiry, which has played the greatest role in bringing about the age of science. It is the zeal to discover which has led man to knowledge.