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Why Science Cannot Explain the Existence of a Creator
I
will address the original question of “Why Science Cannot Explain
God?” Issues such as Allah’s existence cannot be addressed by
science because they entail realities that are beyond the scope of
the scientific method. This does NOT mean that the question of
whether or not Allah exists cannot be answered; all it means is that
it cannot be answered through the scientific method. And this in no
way undermines the scientific thinking; all it means is that we must
recognize that science has its limits, and we respect the scientific
institution by respecting these limitations and not extending
science to address issues that are beyond its scope.
Although this question cannot be addressed through the scientific
thinking, it can be addressed intellectually through the rational
thinking process.The rational or intellectual thinking
process is the process of sensing a reality or subject matter at
hand and then linking the sensation of that reality with all the
relevant information pertaining to that reality, and based upon this
linkage of sensation with relevant information, a thought related to
the issue at hand is produced. Scientific thinking, on the other
hand, entails subjecting the reality or subject matter to the
process of experimentation and, based upon the effect of outcome of
the experiment and measuring certain parameters, formulating a
conclusion. Therefore, scientific and intellectual thinking are
similar in the sense that both require research and study, both
entail use of the mind and the sensory capabilities to sense the
reality, and both require a reality or subject matter. However,
there are also differences, and these differences must always be
kept in mind. The difference between the scientific and intellectual
thinking is primarily in the type of reality that applies to each as
well as the nature of a scientific study (as opposed to an
intellectual one), which ultimately results in different type of
conclusions that are produced from each approach. The scientific
thinking deals with those realities that can be subjected to the
process of experimentation. What makes a study a scientific one is
the presence of the experiment; no study can be considered
scientific without an experiment. After all, the criterion for
determining the credibility of a scientific study rests primarily on
how well the experiment was conducted. What about a study presented
as a scientific study with no experiment whatsoever?
Therefore, it is incorrect to say that truth can only be reached
through science. There exist many realities that are beyond the
scope of science, yet they exist and are proven to exist without a
doubt through the intellectual process. Furthermore, there are many
fields of knowledge whose subject matter is beyond the scope of
scientific experimentation, but the knowledge derived from such
fields is within the scope of intellectual thinking and is very much
needed, such as linguistics, jurisprudence, history, and sociology.
In fact, only the intellectual process can arrive at absolute truths
and definitive conclusions because the intellectual process looks at
the reality as is. For example, one can observe things falling
towards the earth and conclude with absolute certainty that there
exists a force that pulls things towards the earth. This does not
mean that every intellectual study will yield absolute conclusions;
it only means that the intellectual process has this capacity. On
the other hand, the scientific thinking, by its nature will never
produce absolute truths. The reason for this is because the
scientific study is based on results that are the outcome of an
experiment, and these results are based on measurement. Therefore,
the outcome of the scientific study will depend upon how the
experiment was set up, and the precision of the instruments used to
measure the results. Thus, in any scientific conclusion, there is
always room for revision, and scientific results will always change
as instruments used for measurement become more precise and further
experiments are done with greater control over all the variables. No
scientist will ever claim that his results or findings are absolute,
and no scientific study will have as its conclusion that “this is
the truth; no additional research can be done on this issue.”
Some examples will clarify the difference. The conclusion that there
is something called gravity is an absolute conclusion that can be
proven intellectually by everyone. However, it is the job of science
to determine the precise magnitude of the force of gravity by
measuring the rate at which certain objects of known mass fall
towards the earth. And this outcome will change depending upon the
instruments used and how the experiment was set up. However, what
will NOT change is the EXISTENCE of gravity, which is known by
everyone and is not disputed by anyone. Also, water will boil when
it is exposed to heat, and this is an absolute reality that can be
arrived at by intellectual observation; this observation is
confirmed every morning by every human being when they boil water to
make tea or coffee. However, at what precise temperature water boils
will depend upon how it is measured and the experiment that is
established to measure the boiling point. Today, we know
scientifically that water boils at 100 degrees C, but in the future,
somebody may develop more precise methods of measuring temperature
and determine that water boils at 99.6658 degrees C.
Regarding the question of Allah’s Existence, this issue can be
addressed through the intellectual method because what is in
question is Allah’s Existence, not His Essence or His Appearance.
Allah’s Essence or Appearance is beyond the comprehension of the
mind and the senses, and just like the scientific method, the
intellectual method also has limits. The intellectual method cannot
be used to formulate conclusions about realities that are beyond the
comprehension of the mind or senses. Thus, one cannot produce
intellectual conclusions about the angels or about the composition
of Paradise or Hell, or about Allah’s Essence. However, Allah’s
Existence can be proven by the effects of His Existence, which is
the universe around us, and the universe is not only within our mind
and senses to comprehend, but it is sufficient proof for His
Existence. Nothing in the universe has the capacity to self-create.
The material in the universe would not exist without the laws and
the system; not even the most simple sub-atomic particles can exist
without the system. The system not only governs the behavior of the
material, but defines its very existence as well. And likewise, the
system cannot exist without the material. What would gravity be
without material? What would the electromagnetic force be without
charged particles? Therefore, both the material and the system must
have been created, and they could not have been created from nothing
because it is a paradox to say that nothing can produce something.
This leads to the absolute conclusion that Allah exists, and there
was never any need to venture into Allah’s Essence of what Allah
“looks” like in order to prove His existence. I have never seen,
felt, touched, or sensed a telephone engineer, but I know that there
is one because, and the proof for this is the telephone itself. No
telephone can assemble itself; even if I were to bring the
components together and place them in the same box, nothing would
happen. I know without a doubt that there exists a “pizza maker”
without ever having to see, hear, feel, or smell one. The pizza
itself is proof for the existence of a “pizza maker” because I know
that no pizza can assemble itself. Dough does not prepare itself,
cheese does not shred itself, and tomatoes do not puree themselves
to make tomato sauce. Even if I were to prepare all the ingredients
and place them together, nothing would happen. This is the reality
that we sense all around us, and based upon this, we can conclude
that Allah Exists. How can one deny the Existence of a Creator for
this entire universe when we know that even the simple things cannot
shape and organize themselves? As for those realities that are
beyond our senses and comprehension - such as Allah's Essence,
Allah's Attributes, Jinn, Angels, the Day of Judgement, and
Paradise/Hell - we take whatever information is mentioned in the
Qur'an. However, this cannot be called "faith" because we first
establish that the Qur'an is Allah's Word through intellect, and we
can do this because the Qur'an is within our senses and within our
ability to comprehend. As for Angels and Jinns,We believe in them as
part of the Ghaib, for no other reason that the Qur'an
mentions their existence - end of story. The Jinn and Angels have their world
and their affairs, and we have our world, our affairs, and our
problems. We should focus on what WE do in THIS WORLD, and what WE
need to do to understand Islam and apply it.
Therefore, the Qur'an is a book that contains concepts and ideas as
well as laws and rules to govern human actions. The tools that the
human being will invent is not the scope of the Qur'an, and Allah
never intended for it to be the scope of the Qur'an. Therefore,
regardless of scientific or technological advancement, the Qur'an
still remains valid because the subject of the Qur'an, which is the
human being, has not changed. The human being 1400 years ago has the
instinct of survival, as does the human being today. The human being
has the need to get married and have children, as does the human
being today.
If you read the Qur'an, you will clearly see that the Qur'an is
addressing human beings. Allah (swt) says, for example, "Oh
People...", or "Oh You Who Believe...", or "Oh You Who
Disbelieve..." Nowhere in the Qur'an does it state: "Oh Airplane..."
"Oh Refrigerator..." or "Oh B-2 Bomber..." as opposed to "Oh
Camel..." or "Oh Sword and Arrow..." Therefore, the science and
technology that exist have no bearing on the applicability of the
Qur'an or of Islam because science and technology are not the
subject of the Qur'an, nor are they the subject of Islam.For example
Islam orders us to have one Khalifah to apply the Islamic rules; it
does not matter whether the Khalifah rides to his tent on a camel or
rides to his office building in a car or rides to a bubble colony on
Mars in a spaceship. What makes a person a Khalifah is the function
that he is carrying out, namely, implementing the Islamic rules upon
the people. Also, Islam constructs the society in such a manner that
the human beings relate to one another and behave in a unique
manner. It does not matter if the society is composed of tents in
the desert or skyscrapers or the society is a city in space. What
makes a society Islamic is how the human beings are behaving and the
types of laws they are submitting to.
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