Science & Religion
Question:-
According to an
article by a scientist in the "New Scientist" Magazine, because the
Universe, including its laws, forces, space and time were created in the Big
Bang and all the physical constants seem to be fine tuned for the existence of
man who can be aware and know the Universe, then the cause of the Big Bang can
be attributed to God. But no concept of God is required when we have the
Multiverse or Parallel Universe Theories that are based on Quantum Theory.
According to this Universe is not unique, but an infinite number of Universes
exist where all possible physical constants exist and this Universe simply
happens to be one which is suitable for the arising of man. Other Universes
might have other kinds of creatures.
Is there an Islamic
answer to this?
Answer:-
The first thing to
note is that there is a difference between Religion and science. Science is not
the same thing as certain knowledge but that it is a method of obtaining
knowledge. Its concepts are necessarily narrow and rigid in order to attain
precision. It is inductive. It gives partial knowledge because it proceeds from
the parts progressively towards the whole and cannot, therefore, be certain at
any particular time. We cannot, for instance, infer from the facts that this
cat has four legs, that cat has
four legs and these other cats have four legs that “All cats have four
legs”. The field of Reality is greater than the field of our knowledge.
But knowledge itself is useless unless it facilitates the process of living.
Religion is concerned with
the process of living and this requires values and meanings as well as
knowledge of facts. It can be defined as a comprehensive, conscious, purposive
way of life, as opposed to a mechanical, unconscious and accidental one. It is
concerned with human welfare and development which depends on progressive
adjustment to Reality. Science should, therefore, be a supporting part of
religion. Religion proceeds from the whole to the parts. It is deductive and if
the deduction is correctly done then it provides certainty. However this
requires concepts that are comprehensive which are grasped according to the
degree of consciousness. Religion
is proved by the fulfilment of its purpose when correctly applied. Some are
more efficient than others and for certain peoples, conditions and times.
Because
of the fundamental difference in attitude, it should not be surprising that
religion has a different perception of Reality, different relationship with it,
different motives and behaviour.
Science tends to
study things by analysis to find the parts of which things are made. But this
kills the entity because the whole is always more than the sum of the parts
owing to the organisation. When it re-synthesises it creates an artificial dead
invention. This is, of course, good for technology, but not for psychological
adjustment. The fact is that there are at least three layers to Real things:-
(1) Level 1 -The constituent parts of the entities – the notion of matter
refers to this level. However, there are different levels of matter. Things
could be made of organs, cells, molecules, atoms, protons, electrons or photons
etc. (2) Level 2 - the order or
organisation of these parts; and (3) Level 3 - the function of the entity with
respect to its environment. This includes the ability to learn and develop and
to modify the environment. In fact the entity is itself a part of some greater
whole and the parts or fundamental particles of which things are composed are
also organisations that interact with their environment. But science tends to isolate
the entity from its environment in order to study changes in one variable in relation
to another. This also creates the mechanistic deterministic attitude where a
particular cause determines a particular effect necessarily. In fact, of
course, things in reality do not exist in isolation but exist in inter-action
with other things. Though gravity exists and pulls things to the earth, this
does not prevent thing from being thrown upwards or birds and aircraft from
flying. There are other laws that allow this. When a particular event takes
place it is not generally possible to attribute it to a particular cause. What
happens is that a set of events or causes C1, C2, C3, C4…etc. lead to
effects or events E1, E2, E3, E4…etc. And any of these events could also
be caused by different sets of causes. In general, “A factor A has a
relationship B with a factor C under conditions D”. Given an event, it is
not therefore, possible to predict any particular future effects or retrodict
any particular past causes unless there are controlled conditions with known
causes as in a laboratory or machine or in particular restricted or familiar
environments where the same set of events continue to happen regularly.
Environments can be distinguished from each other according to the probability
and frequency with which events or causes exist in them. But in any subsystem that is
part of a greater system an unpredicted impulse can enter from that greater
system at any time causing changes in it. There is therefore, an Uncertainty
Principle that in Islam is incorporated in the formula “Insha
allah” (If Allah Wills). However it remains a fact that from the point of
view of God who sees the whole of space and time and knows all the forces He
has created everything must be regarded as wholly determined. This cannot be
the case for man who only has partial knowledge. Man has a degree of freedom in
that he has alternative ways of action, but whatever he does his actions are
determined by inner and outer causes.
The notion of
Determinism, however, is ambiguous. There are machines from the very simple
that can only do simple things, to complex machines such as motor cars, and
even more complex ones such as computers. The behaviour of each of these can be
said to be determined by their parts and structures. But nevertheless motor
cars can be driven with different speeds and in different directions and for
different purposes because the human being within a more complex organism is
also involved. The computer has much greater versatility also because of (a)
its structure created by the inventors, (b) the programs created by the
programmers and (c) the intentions of the operators. A distinction needs to be
made between these things and they are all concerned with the function of the
entity with respect to the human social environment, but constitute another
level of Reality.
In fact we can
speak of several levels of organisation that be represented by concentric
circles one within the other:- (1)
Org-1 – which refers to
simple entities such as crystals that are relatively passive and have simple
direct reactions with respect to impulses coming from the environment. (2)
Org-2 – this refers to entities such as simple machines so that impulses
from the environment have to be processed by the organisation before an output
is produced. (3) Org-3 – this refers to self-regulating entities such as
living organisms that have within then a centre of control or brain and their
own environment. There is an entity within the entity. The input into and
output from this centre is filtered through the inner environment of the
organism. (4) Org-4 – this refers to entities that can record and
manipulate information. There is another controlling centre within the brain.
But it does not necessarily have a particular location. It may be distributed
over a large area or have parts that are interspersed with other parts. It is a
functional whole. It is an entity in the sense that it is distinguishable from
other kinds of behaviour and forms a small part of the total behaviour. (5)
Org-5 – this refers to higher states of consciousness or what can be regarded
as various degrees of Collective or
Universal Consciousness in a similar way as the consciousness of the individual
can be seen as the collective consciousness of the cells he or his brain is
composed of. It can be regarded as a potential level which is seldom
actualised.
There are degrees
of (i) freedom and (ii) determinism and this is mediated by the degree of (iii)
vitality inherent in a structure. Entities, for instance have their own energy
and behaviour that might be called instincts. This applies to atoms and
sub-atomic particles as much as to animals though there is a difference in
complexity. If an entity consists of different levels of organisation, like
human beings, then it can function from any of these. The behaviour of a person
can, for instance, flow from reflexes, instincts like animals, habits,
obsessions, addictions, social conditioning, knowledge, intelligence, or
consciousness and will. Or it can be restrained by physical fetters, threats
and bribes, legal, political and economic pressures, physical, mental or moral
diseases. Though he can be said to be free from lower levels when he functions
from higher ones, there cannot be what is called “free will”, if
that means a will free of inner or outer causes or reasons. That would make it
impulsive and accidental coming from an unknown cause. A person cannot then be
said to be behaving responsibly. To say “I do this from my free
will” is to say that the cause of my action is my “I” and
that it is not restrained or stimulated by any thing outside it. But that
depends on how one defines “I”. Does it refer to ones body, or some
subsystem like the brain within it, or does it refer to ones mind or intellect
or to one’s soul or spirit, the seat of consciousness, conscience and
will. There are
internal causes because of the order as well as external causes because of the
environment. When there is an event, it is caused by the interaction of an
entity A with other entities C and the relationship between them B. We do not
simply have an external force acting on something passive and inert. The nature
of the entities acted upon also play a role. But there are different degrees of
passivity and activity and mediation.
Whereas some
scientists were and are religious, owing to the elaboration and complication,
and the consequent disintegration and departmentalisation of life people have
ceased to be aware of the overall unity and interdependence of things and most
scientists tend to keep groping in the dark regarding the Concept of God, which
they dismiss together with the concept of the soul or spirit. This causes them
to get into a muddle about questions such as individual responsibility and free
will.
From the Islamic
point of view, Allah, God refers to "the absolute fundamental
self-existing Reality that is the origin of all other things." This
includes matter, energy, forces, information, order, intelligence, life and
consciousness. These things do exist, and must be potentialities in the
original Reality. It is an integral aspect of the concept of Allah that there
is fundamentally a Principle of Conservation such that nothing can come out of
nothing and that there is something fundamental that cannot be destroyed. Allah
is the reservoir of Potentialities. Creation is evolution which is progressive
actualisation of the potentialities that already exist in the origin. Evolution
is discovery rather than invention.
As this refers to
the Absolute whole, the One, there cannot be any external causes for phenomena,
but all derive from inner causes, that is, from intention or purpose. As the
Universe keeps changing or evolving, then causes derive from purposes and facts
derive from values. The Religious attitude can be justified by the following
argument:- (1) The first certainty
we have which we must take for granted is that a fundamental Reality exists.
(2) The second certainty is that consciousness exists. We are aware of reality
because we are conscious. (3) The third certainty is that all other things are
contents of consciousness. We can distinguish between three types:- (a)
Sensations which give us the notion of matter and externality. (b) Feelings,
emotions, motives, which are connected with interactions and give us the notion
of energy. (c) Thoughts, images etc. which give us the notion of internality and
information.
There three basic
ideas, namely (1) Allah, (2) Creation and (3) Causes - the basic factors that
connect Allah with Creation. Three subordinate concepts are connected with
Allah, namely (a) the Word (b) the Spirit and (c) the Attributes of Allah.
These arise only relative to the Created world. The Universe and all things are created
from the Word or Command of God which is defined as Truth and all events in it
are truth transactions. It produces order, organisation at various levels. The
Spirit carries the Word, from which it also derives. It is the source of
consciousness, conscience and will and may be regarded as the fundamental
substance from which others are formed by successive organisation. The
Attributes refer to the principles that determine the nature and behaviour of
things and the categories of thought by which we perceive things. Divine
Attributes such Truth, Goodness, Power and Beauty can be regarded as the source
of such values as the Scientific, the Ethical, the Economic and the Aesthetic
which define the four aspect of all human goals and products.
Some other
Fundamental Principles can be derived from these basic ideas:- The Principle of
Truth - that all things have a nature and behaviour because of the order or
information that describes them and by which we differentiate one thing from
another, and that it is part of a greater order and contains ordered parts. As
all things derive from an original Unity then there is a Principle of
Inter-dependence, Relativity and Reciprocity. There is a Principle of Balance
and Equilibrium because if there is a positive then there must be a negative to
counter-balance it and there is a cyclic process that may lead from one to its
opposite. The Principle of Benevolence - that all things exist because of the
resources they obtain and that when a space is created in the pattern it is
filled, and destruction leads to release of resources that facilitate
construction. The Principle of Diversification and Similitudes – that
because things differentiate from a single original then diversity is created
but there are certain designs that repeat themselves and reproduce and this
allows recognition. The Principle of Empathy – that similar things have
an affinity for each other. The Principle of Justice – that things are
treated in proportion to their similarities and dissimilarities. We would be
unable to distinguish between things if our minds did not work by this
principle. Science finds it difficult, because it deals with parts in isolation
and selfish genes, to comprehend such things as altruism and co-operation and
invent elaborate theories to explain this. In fact it is not possible for these
to arise unless they exist as potentialities or predispositions in them. People
have an inbuilt sense of Justice which would make them treat others like
themselves. It would also follow from the affinity that parents have for each
other and their children. A society is merely an extension of the family. Human
beings have the capacity to identify themselves with others and with causes and
institutions and even animals.
Creation consists
of three fundamental inter-dependent things:-
(1) Entities,
beings, objects, systems of various kinds and levels, recognised by sets of
characteristics and structures that persist. Three kinds of entities should be
recognised:- (a) order composed of materials such as a jewel or a machine. (b)
Ordered energy, behaviour patterns, events that have a recognisable structure
and repeat themselves. They could be incorporated in biological entities, as
for instance, genes that reproduce, but it is the behaviour and function that
counts rather than the object. (c) Ordered units of information that can be
incorporated in various symbols, translated, transmitted, reproduced, combined
and mutated, and recorded on any medium such as paper, tapes, CDs, computers or
human minds. These have been called “memes”, but I call them
“psychons” and distinguish between three types – satons,
cultons and theons according to their source and effects. As they are units of
Information they can be manipulated by the data processing faculty by analysis,
association and synthesis and assimilation, but they can also simply exist
intact, undigested as addictions or obsessions.
It is possible for
man to manipulate and organise material objects or events or information. We
can conduct trial and error experiments on objects, but we can also do so in
our minds much more efficiently and then transfer the results to objects. We
can change our behaviour to produce certain effects and provide certain
information, and we can also organise the environment to produce certain events
with various frequencies and this will affect behaviour and the information we
get. Whereas it cannot be denied that these three are connected, they are also
partially independent of each other in that they can be found combined in
different proportions and that the same events or information can be recorded
or transferred to different media composed of different materials.
(2) Laws,
Regularities, processes, cause and effect series to which the notion of
determinism has been applied.
(3) Intelligence
which can be defined as adaptability, the ability to respond and adjust and
find positions of stability and equilibrium, ability to learn, seeking and
recognising patterns, goal seeking, avoidance, separation, construction,
destruction, alteration, trial and error. This is illustrated by the fact that nature produces
great variety so that when changes take place in environments the probability
of something capable of adapting to this and surviving is increased. Plants
produce large amounts of seeds in order that some will grow into new plants to
replace those that die. But the other seeds are not lost – they provide
nutrient for those that grow. Within the human brain neurons are constantly
growing new branches which can link up with other neurons to form new pathways.
Those that are useful grow stronger and those that are not atrophy. Plants send
out a number of fine roots, which when they find nutrition grow stronger and if
they do not they shrivel up. These are examples of “trial and
error” which also plays a part in how children learn. Thinking also takes
this form allowing us to do it in imagination instead of in the external world.
Intelligence must be regarded as a Universal phenomenon though different
entities have different kinds and degrees of Intelligence. Elasticity,
tolerance and the range of variation should be regarded as essential aspects of
it. Things, for instance, develop gradually changing from one thing to another
and between white and black there is a range of greys. If we define things
strictly as either white or black then the line separating them would be quire
arbitrary. We can only say that something is relativity white with respect to
something that is relatively black.
Intelligence, as
opposed to Determinism, requires (a) sensitivity or perception with respect to
the environment, (b) motive, instincts or drives, and (c) capacity for action.
But because of uncertainty in the “trial and error” method,
scientists tend to apply the notion of “Chance” or
“randomness”. This cannot possibly be a cause of anything. It
refers to the area of ignorance. On the contrary, it becomes necessary to seek
a cause when events are repeated with greater or lesser frequency than chance
allows. If chance is to be invoked than one might as well give up science. This
idea is rejected. Multiplicity and Variety are part of intelligent
adaptability. In fact we have three interdependent notions:- adaptation,
selection and variation that are aspects of intelligence, though intelligence
ought not to be mistaken for consciousness. The entity also selects and is
selected by others, and this selection as also variation is also a form of
adaptation. The Universe must regarded as at least as intelligent as the
scientists who understand its processes.
However one hears
Biologists speaking of Natural Selection and saying such things as
“Nature (or Evolution) did such and such”. But we could ask: who or
what is this Nature which does it and how or why. There appears to be a
superstition connected with this or it is merely a substitute for God. Usually
they mean that there was a blind purposeless event. In fact, however, Nature is
a creation that consisting of its own order, forces, laws and evolution refers
to one of its processes. We want to know the nature and origin of these. They
speak of “the survival of the fittest”. But if one enquires as to
what is meant by “fittest”, it turns out that the fittest are those
that survive. A meaningless vicious circle!. In fact, however, there is a
direction of development. In general it is enhancement of the powers of
perception, motives and capabilities for action. In fact, it can be shown that
the development of life has the function of maintaining equilibrium by
counterbalancing the involutional tendency caused by the Second Law of
Thermodynamics, which, as is well known, requires that entropy (disorder)
should increase in the Universe. If, as is probable, the expansion and
differentiation of the Universe is connected with this increase in disorder,
then the function of life is to return to the origin of order, to the Absolute
Unity, to Allah as the Quran affirms.
"Did you then think that We created you for
jest (or sport, without purpose), and that you would not be returned to
Us?" 23:115 See also
6:62,109, 7:25 etc
The criteria that
control events are that (i) something beneficial (something that enhances
power) to something within a context should arise and develop (ii) that what is
harmful (something that diminishes power) to something within a context should
be destroyed releasing resources for beneficial constructions and (iii) that
which is neither can be preserved for possible future use and perhaps to act as
catalyst or buffers. It constitutes a reserve of potentialities. However, there
may be both benefits and harm and each may affect different entities. It is a
question of which outweighs the other. But the context may change so that the
balance between overall benefit and harm is reversed. A wider view in space and time is
usually needed to make a better assessment.
Religions, unlike
science, make a distinction between the body, the mind and the soul, which
being distinct for each individual refers to organised spirit. This could be
seen as corresponding to the difference between matter, energy and information,
and, therefore, between the structure, the behaviour and the essence of an
entity. Spirit refers to consciousness, conscience and will that correspond to
the faculties for thought, feeling and voluntary action of the mind. In so far
as any entity is more than the sum of its parts owing to its organisation, it
has an over all Unity which to different degrees has a controlling affect on
the parts. It is probable that all things have different degrees of
consciousness, and because all things are parts of greater systems or are
composed of smaller sub-systems, that all these form a Collective Consciousness
from which they also originally derive. That is, the word “Spirit”
can refer to the most fundamental substance from which all other things arise
through various levels of organisation. The soul, being formed from spirit, is
not immutable but can grow or atrophy (91:7-10). It grows when the spirit
enters it (32:9). However, the spirit is dormant and the soul is an atrophied,
disintegrated and unstable state.
As mentioned
before, Religion is concerned not just with facts as science is, but also with
values, with morality and ethics. There is connection between several notions:-
good and evil, inner unity or integration, motives and purposes, will,
conscience, consciousness, responsibility, freedom and autonomy. The goal of
the Islamic discipline is to achieve inner psychological integration. This is
integral to the meaning of Islam, namely surrender to Allah who is One. It is,
therefore, a question of constructing a centre of integration, an
“!” or Self or Soul. The goal is to achieve autonomy or
self-regulation which means that there is an entity controlled by its own inner
causes rather than outer ones. But of course things are only relatively
autonomous and free from external constraints or compulsions. The aim of
religion is to maximise autonomy. It is, of course, true that knowledge,
motives and abilities are required, but there is a difference between being
controlled by these and using them. Freedom can be defined as “the
ability to do what is beneficial or avoid what is harmful”. But ability
has meaning only in relation to inner or outer resistances that must be overcome
and one requires knowledge about this as well as about what is beneficial and
harmful. Freedom has no meaning if there are no motives. But the motives must
be inherent in the nature of the entity and cannot be those that flow from
social conditioning or what the Psychologist Freud called the Super-ego. The
entity is not free of its own nature. The autonomy of the Self is based on
conscience where natural empathy and the inherent and universal principles of
truth, benevolence and Justice reside. Personal responsibility is connected
with freedom and autonomy and refers to ability, the context and the role of
the entity. The role of human beings is given in Islam as an agent of God which
bestows a certain amount of creativity and initiative as well as responsibility.
This refers to certain facts about human beings.
The question,
however, is that if human beings do not have autonomy or free will, but are
mostly irrational, unconscious of the causes of their thoughts and behaviour,
impulsive, manipulated by others and socially conditioned, The answer is that the
reward or punishments are causal forces that are meant to educate and control
behaviour or consequences of their behaviour. People ought to have known what
is right or wrong and what is expected of them and the society should have
taught them. We are responsible because we have been given the ability to
gather knowledge both external and inner, learn, think and process the data of
experience and act accordingly. We are also responsible in so far as we have
the capability of modifying ourselves and these abilities. Development,
however, takes time both for individuals and the community (70:4). But the
responsibility exists only in so far as there was no inner or outer compulsion
for that behaviour. But even external compulsion acts through inner factors
e.g. fear of pain or of losing ones life or livelihood or suffering of ones
relatives or friends.
Corresponding to
these Fundamental Creations is the question of the causes of Behaviour. There
are:- (i) The inherent factors connected with the order that describes the
entity; (2) Environmental factors, especially when they create memory records
in the entity. This includes the effects of the entity on its environment and
the culture that human beings themselves create. (3) Personal efforts through
intelligence which modifies both the entity and its environment. These factors
affect behaviour of different entities and individuals in different
proportions. The inherent factor plays a greater part in animals and in primitive
people and the environmental factor plays an increasingly greater part in more
educated human beings. Religions require that Human beings should develop and
that intelligent conscious behaviour should play an increasingly dominant part.
(Quran 91:7-10, 3:164, 20:76, 56:60-62, 62:2, 87:14)
The question of the
cause of the arising of the Universe, the Big Bang and Time and Space is not
solved by doubtful theories about the existence of the Multiverse or Parallel
Universes, or even the Bouncing Universe (the sequence of expansions and
contractions of the Universe). The fact is that there are forces and constants
that define all these Universes.
Suppose that the beginning is compared to a volume of Gas where the particles
keep moving at random and combining to form all kinds of patterns, but as soon
as a pattern is formed it disintegrates again. How can evolution take place in
it? What force would cause a pattern to persist so that a gradual accumulation
of such accidents can happen? Why would the fundamental particles exist in the
first place as they already have persistence and resistance to change? When we
speak of chance and probabilities there is already an assumption behind it.
Consider dice which when thrown have a one in six chance of landing with a particular
face up. How do we know that the chances are one in six? It is obviously
because we already know that there are six sides. Usually, we do not know the
number of alternatives that exist. Apart from that we are ignorant of all the
forces that affect the motion of the thrown dice and chance simply refers to
ignorance.
On the other hand
determinism is usually assumed in science and this assumption reappears in the
conclusion. It is assumed in order that the network of concepts is fine enough
not to let facts to escape unseen through the holes. Things can to be defined
narrowly and rigidly though the phenomena of nature are not so. Determinism is
not an attribute of nature but arises from the definitions. For instance, we
can define a cat as having four legs. We can then argue that All cats have four
legs. Then if this particular entity is a cat it must inevitably have four legs. But
if we find a cat with three legs then because it does not fit the definition it
must be something else. Nature has departed from our verbal definitions and we
will find another name for it. According to Newton’s Laws of Motion on
which science is based, the first law is an assumption that all motions
continue uniformly until a force causes a change. The second law states that
the change in motion is proportional to the force. But if one were to ask how
do we know that there is a force, then the answer is that we measure it by the
change in motion. This is logically absurd as the conclusion is in the
assumption. The notion of an enabling force is required as a contrast to what
is inert and cannot change. However, according to Newton’s idea of gravity, it
is a force that depends on the masses in interaction and the distance between
them. It is obvious then that the cause lies not in an external force but in
the nature of the entity, the nature of its environment and the relationship
between the two. The whole real situation has been divided into three factors
for the purpose of knowledge.
Science recognises
four forces - gravity, electromagnetism, the weak and the strong nuclear
forces. It is assumed that all differentiate from a single original force.
However, from a religious point of view the coming into existence of the
Universe and its evolution certainly means that there are changes and the cause
of this is attributed to God who is the origin of all these forces. The
original force still operates and there are other forces that have arisen by
further differentiation such as mechanical, centrifugal, chemical, biological,
psychological and sociological ones. There may well be other forces not yet
discovered or recognised.
But the assumption
of determinism itself leads to the notions of chance and probability, because
nature shows that it does not conform to our definitions. The fact is that all
knowledge is relative in that it requires us to differentiate between things,
compare them and relate them in order to restore the unity from which we have
made the differentiation. But Relativity itself must be known in relation to
the Absolute. Then since knowledge is relative, the absolute is beyond
knowledge. It refers to the state of being, to Reality. This is prior to
knowledge and refers to a field that is much greater than knowledge. The field
of knowledge simply grows or contracts within this field.
Even if science did
find a Unified Field Theory and a formula that combines all the known forces,
the mystery about why that exists remains. Why would the Multiverse conform to
such an equation? And why would it there be such a variety instead of just a
single undifferentiated uniformity?
According to one
point of view, the Absolute, by self-restriction, gives rise to The World of
Fundamental principles that are referred to by the Attributes of Allah and by
further restriction produces the World of Potentialities where a great number
of possibilities exist. That is to say, the world of Potentialities is a small
part of the Absolute world. It is by further restriction of these that the
Actual World arises. It is a fourth level of Reality. These restrictions
probably exist in the minds of the observers which also determine their
behaviour and interactions. It is its sensitivity, breadth and selectivity, the
concepts it uses, that produces the World it sees. This in turn depends on and
determines the interactions between observers and their environment which
depend on their motives and values. If one changes these value and conceptual
systems then the behaviour and interactions will also change and the world will
not only look different but also be different. This is not far from an
interpretation of Quantum Theory, that probabilities collapse into an actuality
owing to interaction e.g. the act of observation or measurement. There is no
need for postulating many parallel Universes. But there may well be a great
number of Universes in the present or the past and the future and there may be
many kinds of intelligences in them.
As human beings are
formed by the materials, forces and processes of the Universe and have arisen
by a long history of adaptation to the Universe, it is thought that they must,
therefore, have the faculties that can understand the Universe. But this can
only refer to their potentialities not to their actuality. They have arisen in
interaction with a restricted environment provided by this planet and the
process of learning and adaptation is still going on. It is not yet complete.
Human beings also suffer from habits, addictions and obsessions that produce
illusions. From the Islamic point of view human beings have the Spirit of Allah
within them (32:9) and this gives them the potentialities for knowing the
creation of Allah and of adapting to it. But they have fallen far below their
potentialities (95:4-6) because of attachments that limit them. However,
Religion provides techniques for human development and also provides direct
help through prayer and meditation which allows a person to penetrate into the
deeper recesses of his being that also connect with the environment at deeper
levels, regions that normally lie in the sub-conscious or unconscious mind.
Secular education
also facilitates some human development but mainly in the mental faculties -
the sciences sharpen the intellect, the arts refine the feelings to some
extent, while physical education affects the physical skills. But it does not
facilitate much self-insight, self-examination and self-control or offer any
guidance for the conduct of the inner and outer life, though some popular
magazines and pseudo-spiritual cults try to close this gap. Whereas ordinary
education enables occasional objective thinking it does nothing for objective
motives and behaviour. Religion, however, has eroded because of the triumph of
science that produced the Industrial revolution and its consumerism and
materialism, and the fact that religious education for the majority has
unfortunately remained naïve and primitive. This has led to unbalanced
human beings, a degenerating spiritual and moral state, and increasing
psychological, social and environmental problems.
Question:-
There is, sometimes bitter, controversy between scientists and
religious people about whether the Universe and life on this world has evolved
or has been created. Is the idea of Evolution compatible with Islam? Are
Evolution and Creation mutually exclusive ideas?
Answer:-
The answer to both questions is No. Creation can be regarded as a
process and evolution can be regarded as a series of creative acts. The Quran
points out that there is growth in nature and illustrates this with the example
of crops and the development of human beings from the fertilised ovum to
adulthood and beyond. (Quran 40:67, , 84:19, 71:17,40, 54:49-50, 65:12). We are
told that we have been created by God, but we know very well the process by
which we have arisen. We say that an artist creates a piece of art, say a
painting or that human beings have invented and created aeroplanes, but these
are nevertheless processes. Aeroplanes have also evolved. The six days of
creation mentioned in the Quran 7:54 can easily be understood as referring o
six stages or ages as time in the Quran is relative. (22:47, 70:4, 16:77, 7:167, 15:85)
However, a particular theory of evolution can be incompatible
with the teachings in the Quran. In fact, the theory of "Evolution by
Natural Selection" is based on errors of thought or bias. Certainly, no
selection can take place unless there is variety. Even Mendel's Law of Genetic
Inheritance presupposes variation. Variation is attributed to
"mutations" that can be seen as acts of creativity. They are caused
by factors in the environment including Cosmic rays and also by factors within
the organism.
But it is not just a question of horizontal variation but also of
the persistence of the change or else what is created can also be undone. And
there is an increasing complexity and sophistication which requires a whole
series of mutations which also depend on previous ones. There is a direction of
development. This cannot be wholly random. Here selection at each stage plays a
part, but nevertheless appropriate mutations must take place first.
But the notion of natural selection is also ambiguous. It is
supposed that when environments change then those fittest for it survives and
multiply. But when one tries to discover what the fittest are, one finds that
they are those that survive. This is a vicious circle. In fact, there are a
number of different interdependent environments, some contained as sub-systems
within others. Each contains a variety of organisms with individuals that vary
from each other and they do not necessarily multiply in great numbers.
Organisms are interdependent and co-operate with each other and that allows
specialisation. Organisms also seek, change and create their environments. In
fact the environment and the organisms in it are inter-dependent and form
single systems. The inherent motives and intelligences (adaptability) of
organisms has not been taken into consideration. Nor has the intelligence of
the whole system within which adjustment must also take place and which must
adjust to the greater system of which it is a sub-system. It is not only the
desire for self-preservation and reproduction that drives organisms but also
the self-expression including the desire for pleasure and avoidance of pain and
suffering and self-extension.
We could ask: What is this Nature that does the selection? And is
it the fundamental cause? Or is it also dependent on something else? The
Islamic answer is that the fundamental cause is Allah. He, or rather HU does
the mutation and the selection, though that may be done through agents also
created by HU. Intelligence is a third factor.
It is better to think of evolution as progressive adjustment to
Reality, of problem solving, of overcoming difficulties, where a problem is
defined as the conflict between the inner drives and outer conditions, and the
capacity to adjust, to solve problems is defined as intelligence. The nature
and behaviour of organisms depends on inherent factors provided by genes, but
also on what is acquired from experiences within the environment and thirdly on
their own efforts. It is important to realise that it is not only the set of
genes that control the structure and behaviour of organisms, but that genes can
be dormant or active and that environmental influences, including diets,
radiations, physical conditions that create stresses and trauma as well as the
efforts of the organisms can affect gene expression and that this can be
transmitted down the generations according to whether or not that gives
advantages in particular environments. In fact, the environment is not merely
exerting a selective pressure but it also causing modifications in the organism
and producing mutations. The efforts of the organism also affect these. There
is also inner genetic selection.
It is also necessary to understand that the environment is not
static but is constantly changing owing to the expansion of the Universe, he
constant radiation of the sun, the impact of materials coming from the rest of
the Universe, geophysical forces that cause climatic changes and even from
eruption of volcanoes. It is also changing owing to the arising and activities
of the organisms. Evolution, therefore, depends on pressure both from above and
below and there is reciprocity.
U > < E > < O
Also an active factor from the Universal source U acts on the
particular entity or organism O to lift it to a higher state, though the entity
is also responsible for utilising that force. There is a descent and an ascent
No evolution is possible without such a descending force as things would simply
remain in the same horizontal state. The fact is that the materials we are
composed of derive from the stars and beyond, from the origin of the Big Bang;
all our energy and information also derive from the sun and beyond and so do
all the natural laws by which we exist. So, though physically higher animals
such as man evolve from lower animals, it cannot be said that we are no more
than animals. Something has been added from a Universal source. The soul (the
bundle of information that defines the entity) has grown by a series of
creative acts and can be modified by the behaviour of the organism itself.
There is a great difference between the analytical view that
looks at parts in isolation and the synthetic or wholistic view that sees
things as parts of a system. Analysis kills and the re-synthesis that follows
produces an artefact.
At a fundamental level of Reality we have three factors, namely
(1) Chaos, (2) Order and (3) Change. Change means construction and destruction.
That is movement towards order and movement towards chaos. One depends on the
other. Construction involves destruction of something and destruction refers to
something constructed. There is generally a periodic swing between one and the
other. Over all things always remain the same. We see also that existence
consists of many levels of Systems that are various mixtures of order and
chaos, each being a part of a greater system and containing many smaller
systems. The greater system is an environment for the smaller with which it has
to interact and to which it must adjust. The relationship is as between heaven
and earth. Change consists of such adaptation. Intelligence is the power to
adjust and adapt, and it is a Universal phenomena though it varies in power.
In general science deals only quantities, qualities and
relationships which are external perceptions. It tends to ignore capabilities.
The result is that evolution is seen as horizontal changes. But evolution can
be seen as an increase in capabilities. From the scientific point of view this
can be attributed to increase in complexity, which refers to relationship and
order. The notion of "information" is connected with this. However,
this involves the arising of patterns and increasing unification. Evolution can
be seen as a vertical upward movement of increasing complexity and that
requires some kind of guidance. It is opposed by an opposite degenerative
movement towards chaos. Organisms do grow and then deteriorate, die and
disintegrate. The question is what is this guiding principle?
Degeneration, it is supposed, takes place automatically because
of the Second Law of Thermodynamics. This is explained as follows:- Energy
flows from a place of greater concentration to a place of lesser concentration.
This can be seen as a flow from places of greater probability or order to
places of lesser probability or order. There is a pressure to expand and that
might account for the expansion of space. The scientific notion of
"Information" refers to order and is it inversely proportional to
chaos (entropy) and has the minimum probability of arising spontaneously or by
chance. If we see order then we require causes to explain it. This assumes that
chaos requires no explanation or cause. But there is really no justification
for this. But then justification simply means an adequate explanation and that
means it must form part of a self-consistent system. Things must belong to a
whole. This is the fundamental requirement. Unity is the Absolute fundamental
in thought and existence.
Experiments show that order appears in a portion of substances
when a state of higher concentration than the surroundings is maintained in it.
This requires some kind of retaining factor. Evolution, then certainly requires
a force or law that is the opposite of the degenerative process. Gravity which
tends to create concentration appears to be such a force. But it is generally
associated with inertia that opposes change. There are other attractive forces
responsible for trapping energy to create the fundamental particles of matter,
and the atoms and cells etc. Ultimately, all forces derive from a single
Fundamental Force. Gravity may be a part of this force, something left over and
leaking out.
However, if degeneration is normal then originally there must have
been a concentration of energy which disintegrated with the Big Bang. As time
slows down the further back we go towards the Big Bang, this event, though
regarded as having taken place instantaneously from our point of view, could
well have taken a long time. The events in the Universe can be regarded as
being caused by the introduction of information into it. Conscious efforts are
generally required for construction. There may well be forces in nature that
can be regarded as equivalent to this, of which human consciousness is a part.
Consciousness is a mystery to science and yet without it there
can be no knowledge, scientific or otherwise. Its ability to accurately
describe reality is taken for granted. It is a fundamental article of faith.
But its variable nature is well known and gives reason to doubt that ordinarily
it does describe reality. However, consciousness is connected with recognition
of and striving for pattern and unification. It is part of the evolutional
force. We must suppose that there is a basic Universal Unity of which all
things are part and that makes all things inter-dependent directly and
indirectly. The disintegration of the unity requires the process of
reintegration in order to maintain the overall constancy of equilibrium. Otherwise,
one would have to introduce some kind of external force that causes change.
This is impossible if we are speaking of the ultimate Reality, the Absolute
Whole. This Absolute must be the origin of all things and there being nothing
outside it, all causes are its intentions, which is the Fundamental Force known
in religion as the Word of God; and Creation, the Universe and all things in
it, are results of this.
Ultimately we have A >
W > C
----------<O>----------
Contents