WHY DO SO MANY PEOPLE

EMBRACE ISLAM

 IN TODAY’S TIMES?

Q34. Religion, if it is true, should be able to stand scientific scrutiny.  Is there an Islamic arena where this kind of discussion is possible?

Eugene Faulstich chri@ruthventel.com

Ans. It is true, that if a religion is true, it should be able to stand scientific scrutiny.

The Glorious Qur’an is the last and final revelation of God. For any book to claim to be the Word of God, it should stand the test of time. Previously, it was the age of miracles. The Qur'an is the miracle of miracles. Later on, came the age of literature and poetry. Muslims as well as non-Muslims agree that Al-Qur’an is Arabic literature par excellence - that it is the best Arabic literature on the face of the earth. However, today, it’s the age of science and technology, and the Qur'an passes this test as well.

According to the famous physicist and Nobel Prize winner, Albert Einstein, "Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind."

It should however, be borne in mind that the Qur'an is not a book of ‘Science’ but rather a book of ‘Signs’ i.e. Ayaat. There are more than 6,000 signs (Ayaat) in the Qur'an out of which more than a thousand speak of Science. The Qur'anic data on science does not conflict with any of the established scientific fact. It may go against certain scientific hypothesis or theories, which are not grounded in facts as many a times science takes U-turns. A number of verses of the Qur'an speak on various different subjects of science, such as Astronomy, Physics, Geography, Geology, Oceanology, Biology, Botany, Zoology, Medicine, Physiology, Embryology as well as General Science.

There have been several arenas where people have discussed a number of issues related to comparative religion. Islam encourages reasoning, discussions and dialogues. Allah says:

“Invite (all) to the way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious”.  (Al-Qur'an 16:125)

With regards to discussions on the theme of your question, I had a public dialogue in April 2000, in Chicago USA, on the subject ‘The Qur'an and the Bible in the Light of Science’ with a Christian, Dr. William Campbell from the USA.

Dr. William Campbell had written a book trying to point out scientific errors in the Qur'an. In the dialogue, I refuted all the allegations that he made against the Qur'an while he could not refute any of the 38 scientific errors in the Bible pointed out by me. You may refer to the video of that debate which is available for sale world-wide. For more information please visit www.irf.net. You can also refer to my book, ‘Qur'an and Modern Science: Compatible or Incompatible’ as well as my video on the topic, ‘Qur'an and modern Science: Conflict or Conciliation.’