Relationship between Science and Religion

University of Oxford

Text of a speech by Muhammad Yaqub Khan, (the Imam of the Shah Johan Mosque, Woking) at a Conference in Oxford on Science and Religion (The Light, November 24, 1960)

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen!

The more I have been listening to addresses from this platform, the more confused I have been getting in my religious thoughts. First of all, it seems to me that God is not something to be discovered; the moment we discover Him. He ceases to be God. I think the right approach to the question of God is that He reveals Himself. This is the very first fallacy scientists fall victims to, when they set out to discover God.

God, so far as His nature is concerned, is certainly beyond human comprehension. All that we can and need to know about Him is how He deals with human beings. I think it is but another form of escapism from the struggle of life to probe into such metaphysical questions as the nature of Reality. We are here in the midst of this life, and the main question before us is not Why we are here? The main question is How shall we lead this life? The answer is very simple. We must play this game of life according to the rules of our game. In religious parlance we must live according to the laws of God.

I am afraid I emphatically differ with the view that religion and science are incompatible. From the Islamic point of view, the Universe we live in is the work of God, whereas religion is the word of God. Since both emanate from the same source, there can be no contradiction, no incompatibility between the two.

Science and Religion Basically Identical

As a matter of fact, we have it on the authority of the Quran that the whole of Nature observes this religion of conformity to the laws of God. That is what man must do too, we are told. That, in a nutshell, seems to be the whole message and mission of religion – viz. to do the Will of God. That is precisely what the word Islam literally connotes: Complete self-surrender to God’s will.This, indeed, is the one theme that runs throughout the Quranic message. To give just one quotation, the Book says:

”Do they seek a religion other than the religion ordained by God, whereas to Him submits whatever is in the heavens and on earth?”… And whoever seeks a religion other than that of conformity to God’s Will, it shall not be accepted from him and he will be a loser in the long run (lit.hereafter)”.

The Quran 3: 82-84.

Here is an unequivocal declaration that the religion observed by the whole of the Universe is none other than that of conformity to the Will of God. In the realm of physical nature, we call that Will the laws of God which are the subject-matter of the physical sciences. In the sphere of the life of the spirit, those laws form the subject of revelation vouchsafed to the Divinely-inspired Teachers. To put it more pointedly, we may say that science is the religion of nature, and religion the science of life. Science and religion, thus, are not mutually exclusive; they are two facets of the same process.

Now, what is the purpose of this religion of conformity? First of all, it ensures a smooth working of Nature, making it possible for the latent potentialities in everything to grow and develop. To take a homely illustration, let us watch the life-story of a small seed – say an apple-seed. What do we find? We find the whole of the apple tree – the roots, the trunk, the leaves, the flowers and the fruit—locked up within that tiny thing. Its Divinely ordained destiny is that it should unfold those potentialities, that it should grow and develop into a full-fledged tree with all its foliage and flowers, culminating in the delicious fruit which is its highest goal to reach. This journey, by slow gradual stages, towards that goal, can fulfil only by going through well-defined processes of the law governing plant life. It must be put into proper soil at the proper season; it must be regularly watered, and weeded and manured, and otherwise looked after. All these laws must be observed before it can fulfil its destiny. Man has been created in the image of God. In other words, he has Divine attributes embedded in his nature. To work out those attributes is the purpose of his creation. And religion chalks out the way how do it.

No Renunciation of Life

At this stage, we must take note of another vital aspect of the teachings of Islam, which likewise bears the stamp of scientific validity. Just as you need soil for the growth and development of that small seed, so do we need some sort of soil for the growth of soul qualities and Divine attributes within us. This worldly life in which we find ourselves placed, with all its demands and calls, its ups and downs, its sorrows and sunshine, constitutes that soil. All these vicissitudes of life are so many opportunities, and escapism from the demands of life in any shape or form is to miss those opportunities. It is something like missing the only bus which can carry you to your destination. So, in Islam, there is to be no renunciation of this worldly life. It is the express Divine purpose that we should work out the image of God in us through living a full life. I remember a distinguished scientist describing this image of God within us as the Imprisoned Splendour. This worldly life, according to the Islamic teachings, is meant to quicken that sleeping beauty within man, and make it grow and develop. In this respect as well, we find the processes science and religion quite identical – the phenomenon of soul growth running parallel to that in the realm of physical Nature.

Reason and Revelation

Another common misconception is the so-called contradiction between reason and revelation. Islam recognises no such contradiction. The lights of reason and revelation are mutually complementary, not contradictory. In physical life, when we cannot see certain things with the naked eye, we bring to its aid some instrument, say a telescope or a microscope. The evidence of this instrument cannot be said to nullify that of the naked eye. The functions of the two are supplementary. Likewise, reason and revelation are also mutually supplementary. In the intricacies of life too subtle for unaided reason to probe and explore, revelation from God comes to man’s help to illuminate his path and sustain and strengthen him in the vicissitudes of life.

The Book of Nature

As a matter of fact, Islam attaches as much importance to the study of Nature as to that of the Quran. In order to drive home moral and spiritual truths, attention is invited to the phenomena of Nature. Why don’t you, reflect? – this is the repeated exhortation to man. People given to conventional modes of thought and ancestor-worship are repeatedly reminded that this is not the way to find the truth. Their ancestors might have been in the wrong. To find the truth they must think for themselves.

One particular phenomenon of Nature forms the repeated theme of the Quran – that of rainfall. The main problem before humanity is, how can you revive moral and spiritual values? There is a great hue and cry on all sides that morality is going down and unless something is done to revive moral values, we are heading for some big crash. The question is, how can it be done? That is the practical problem that is before modern man. The Quran’s answer to this quest of man is very clear and emphatic. It says:

Look at the common phenomenon how at the touch of rainfall dead soil quickens to life, and the whole face of the earth is covered with verdure. The Spiritual rain of revelation also, it concludes, can bring about moral regeneration.I am quite positive that no amount of scientific investigation can create that dynamic force in human life, individual as well as social, that can bring about moral regeneration. Even the latest discoveries of science, which have led to the dissolution of matter into something non-material, furnish only a negative evidence of the existence of God. They by no means clinch the vital issue whether God really exists. But for such a firm conviction in God’s existence, there can be no force which can revolutionise human life. That live conviction is born of the spiritual experience of revelation alone.

Universality of Revelation

As I said before, God must reveal Himself; He cannot be discovered. And here we come to another basic teaching of Islam—the universality of revelation. The Islamic view is that the light of revelation has been vouchsafed to humanity from the very dawn of life. There have not been any people, the Quran declares, to whom a Prophet was not sent.Revelation is to spiritual regeneration what rainfall is to the upsurge of life in physical nature. The Quran repeatedly drawing upon this parallelism says:

See how the dead soil is resuscitated, how after a dry spell clouds come up, breezes blow, and these clouds laden with vapour are brought to the dry land, and how rain falls and when there is rainfall, then something happens, a new life springs up. There is verdure all around. The whole Nature blossoms, as if some new life has been whispered into the ears of Nature.This the Quran tells us is the way to bring about spiritual regeneration. Divine revelation alone releases that life-giving soul-energy. Another point to note in this analogy is that just as rain comes from above, the water of spiritual life must also come from above. No earth-rooted human wisdom can supply this need.A friend in his learned discourse very rightly said the smallest things and the greatest things in this universe are very near. That applies with equal force to the point in hand. The processes of physical and spiritual regeneration are so close to each other. Just as there can be no life in physical nature unless from above comes the water of life in the form of rain, there can not be released that soul-energy which alone can transform human life and bring about a spiritual renaissance.

Acceptance of All World Prophets

Intellectually and academically, we may prove or disprove anything but what really matters is a change in practical life. That is the main problem of man. That is what is the sole object of religion. Therefore, one of the basic principles of Islam is that to bring about a change for better in human life. Divine revelation has been vouchsafed to mankind ever since the dawn of life, and there has not been a nation who has not had a Prophet, or a Teacher sent unto them so that they might be guided. As a corollary to this it is enjoined upon a Muslim that he must profess faith in all the Prophets of the world that were ever and anywhere raised. A Muslim is told that he cannot be a Muslim unless he accepts all these Prophets as much as he accepts the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Some of these Prophets – Abraham, Moses, Noah, Jesus – have been mentioned by name and there have been numerous more, we are told, who have not been mentioned. The Quran is so keen on this basic principle that it demands that no discrimination should be made between one Prophet and another. And it gives the reason also why not to make any discrimination. Because, it says, it is the light that you are concerned with, the light from God, of which these Prophets were so many channels. It is immaterial which window the light comes through. It may come from any window, and you have to accept it, because with that light is bound up the growth and development of the Imprisoned Splendour in you which is your soul life.

Revelation: A Higher Source of Knowledge

This is the story of religion and science in Islam—a very simple and common-sense story. Incidentally, I feel, it is a mistake to make the question of religion the concern only of the higher intellectual levels of scientists and philosophers, who, after all, constitute only a drop in the ocean of humanity. Religion is a thing that is needed as much as daily bread for every individual. The meanest of human beings needs that soul nourishment, which must therefore be as simple as possible, so as to be intelligible to the meanest understanding. Of course, there are levels – levels of soul development. At the highest level you reach a stage when you may even feel the living presence of God. We can’t see God with these physical eyes, but it is a great mistake, I would very humbly submit, to presume that these few senses are the only sources of knowledge. It is presumptuous on the part of scientists to claim that there is nothing beyond the prison walls of these five senses through which we look at the universe. Within the experience of all of us, there come moments when suddenly some new window within us is flung open and new light comes in, which is beyond the reach of these physical senses. The artist and the poet owe the masterpieces of their arts to such flashes. These flashes attain to the highest culmination in the lives of the Prophets. These highly attuned souls get so attuned to God, that, we are told, God becomes their eyes with which they see and He becomes their ears with which they may hear. Such is the very close nearness to God they attain. This highest level may not be within reach of all of us, but the impact of these spiritual beacons who have appeared from time to time, leaves an imprint on the mind of humanity. The lives of these spiritual luminaries, such as Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad ﷺ, Buddha and Krishna are a source of immense inspiration to all seekers after truth.

All Religions Basically One

We in Islam believe that they all meant the same thing, that though they spoke in different accents and different words, they conveyed the same message. The Islamic teaching is that just as God is one, the light of religion He sends for man’s guidance is also one. Very few people know that according to Islam, religion has always been one and the same. That religion is the religion of doing God’s will or conformity to God’s laws. This is what we find underlined in the Quran again and again; this is what has been exemplified in the life of every Prophet that we know of. About Abraham we read in the Quran that when God said to him, submit to God’s will, forthwith came the response:

”I submit to the will of the Creator of the Universe”. Conformity to God’s will—that has always been the one religion taught by all Prophets. Of course, for Christians you are very familiar with Jesus’ historic words: ”Thy will, not my will.”

One Law Throughout the Universe

So this is the real thing that there is but one religion which is observed both in Nature and in man. With that is bound up the smooth working of the Universe as well as the growth and development of human personality in the individual and social life. This is the only way that can bring peace, in individual as well as international life. There is absolutely no contradiction between science and religion; they are aspects of the same truth, one being the work of God, the other the word of God. The ultimate aim is to steep ourselves in Divine attributes. This can never be done unless we discover some personal contact with God, the Source of life, even though on a very humble scale. We may not be able to rise very high, but in Islam it is open to every individual to have direct access to God who is the source of all light and life. From God comes all the inspiration for the higher and nobler things in life. What sunshine is for physical life on earth, God is for man’s spiritual life. The Quran describes God as the light of the heavens and the earth. The closer we get to that source of light and life, the higher we grow in our spiritual stature.

The tragedy with the followers of all revealed religions has always been that they have failed to convert the truths of those religions into personal experience. What they have in their heads is only what I should say, second-hand stuff, hearsay. Unless the teaching of the Prophets is recapitulated in personal experience, it remains dead theology, but it is by no means religion.