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Taken from The Stony Brook Minaret, Volume IV, Issue V

On Friday, February 25th, Brother Nouman Ali Khan delivered a khutbah on the signs of the Dajjaal, particularly focusing on the current modern world view of scientism. This article is meant to clarify some points made in Brother Nouman’s khutbah regarding science, and also to further explain and expand on the problems of scientism and how it clashes so harshly with religion in general, and Islam in particular.

There is no doubting the benefits of science. The scientific revolutions, particularly over the past century have brought forth extraordinary insights into the world around us. From the depths of sub-atomic physics and the human body, to astronomical understandings of the universe, scientists across the world have made great discoveries that have helped us understand almost anything we can imagine in today’s world. Our current knowledge of living things is unparalleled and only time can tell what great discoveries have yet to be found. Furthermore, scientific advances should not be limited to those that have occurred in the West for great advances and discoveries were made in the Islamic Empires as well. During the so-called “Dark Ages” of Europe, the Islamic world was thriving with advancements and discoveries in all fields of science. (See Islamic Science by Dr. Seyyed Hossein Nasr). Science has led to a greater understanding of the world; this is indisputable.

However, science is not boundless in its ability to attain knowledge. By definition, science can only study that which is observable and quantifiable. The unit of measure in any science is a specific quantity that can be measured, and therefore studied. Science is limited by the very fact that reality goes beyond the realms of that which is readily observable or quantifiable in the world. Science cannot explain the value of one’s soul, the afterlife, any worlds beyond that of the universe such as paradise, hell, etc., and most importantly, God.

Now let’s be practical; most of us are science or engineering majors. We can easily understand the role of science by looking back on how we have been taught to explain the various phenomena of the world. The very premise of science and its methodology is based on explaining the greater by the lesser. For example, the human body functions by the physiological relations comprised of the various systems of the body. These systems are made up of organs that are made of cells that are amalgamations of sub-cellular units which are based upon biochemical interactions that are based on the rules of chemistry that are made up of subatomic particles governed by the rules of physics. Similar analogies can be given to any science, for the goal of science is to establish reductionist theories that are succinct and can explain virtually anything.

This is where the modern view of science conflicts with religion: while science attempts to explain the greater by the lesser, religion tells us that the lesser is from The Greater, Al-Kabeer. Moreover, as science measures that which is only quantifiable, religion includes the value of quality, which goes beyond the realms of everything quantifiable in this world. However by no means does this mean that religion and science are inherently incompatible. The clash with religion occurs when one takes science as the only means through which knowledge can be attained, otherwise known as scientism.

Scientism is the belief that only through science can all knowledge be attained; scientific inquiry, observation, and investigation are the only means through which any true meaning can be attained. By this very assertion, it discredits all other religions which give meaning through ways other than quantifiable methods. It rejects everything that is beyond the worldly domain and is limited only to the observable reality which is present therein. There is no room for God, and absolutely no religious mythical values. And by myth, I refer to the academic definition of the work; not made-up fantasized stories, but rather sacred truths, which include revelation, prophethood, etc. Moreover, since scientism is based on discoveries that arose from modern scientific understanding, it therefore discredits traditional values and beliefs, as they are were not scientifically established and therefore wrong. For example, it took the labor of 16th century astronomer Copernicus to come up with the heliocentric model of the solar system; preceding this it was commonplace to believe that the earth lied at the center of the universe. This geocentric model was believed traditionally, and it was wrong; science was able to bring out the real truth of this matter. And just as an important side note, Copernicus stole this idea and many other facts leading up to his theory from the work of 14th century Muslim astronomer Ibn al-Shatir.

Likewise, it is believed that such scientific findings will be able to give rise to all knowledge and all other traditionally held beliefs including myths of religion will, in due course, be proven false. It is only a matter of time before science uncovers the answer to the ontological problems and unanswered questions of the world. Therefore, scientism looks down upon tradition and views it as prehistoric because in the past, people lacked the proper scientific understanding to be able to truly understand the world; as the world progresses, and science gives rise to greater understanding, more knowledge will be uncovered about the world as it is always in a state of modern progression. Contrary to this myth of progression (and by myth here, I am indeed referring to a fictitious belief), religions such as Islam view tradition as sacred.

Thus far, it may seem like I am trying to portray scientism as limited to scientists. However, this is not the case. Scientism and its reasoning are growing rapidly throughout the west and upper-class/elite mentality throughout the world, particularly in many Islamic countries. Unfortunately, generalizations of religion and its practices by many throughout the world today are greatly contributing to rising beliefs and thoughts of scientism. It would not be too far-fetched if one thought that religion was the source of most of the world’s problems; it undoubtedly is. The ideologies of religions and their various interpretations are indeed the source of many conflicts throughout the world historically and today.

As you may recall from Brother Nouman’s khutbah, he claimed that it was the narrow interpretation of Christianity by Paul that initially caused the conflict between religion and reason. Regardless of whether or not this was actually the starting place of the conflict, religion has opposed many reasonable and even scientifically accepted views throughout history. For these matters, religion no longer needed to be reasonable, and beliefs should be followed blindly and in accordance with whatever the authorities decreed. Brother Nouman said that the Church replaced reason with authoritarian, dogmatic beliefs, and historically, religion has done so unfortunately. In fact, the Catholic Church rejected the heliocentric model of the universe later propagated by Galileo even though the scientific evidence was entirely reasonable and all data and evidence proved the geocentric model wrong. Nonetheless, the Church held on to its beliefs and condemned Galileo and his views. It wasn’t until 1992 when Pope John Paul II apologized for the church’s inquisition. Instances like these are why many view religion as unreasonable and illogical.

The same logic is applied today. When you hear Christian “fundamentalists” arguing against evolution, the rest of the world looks with contempt at this backward thinking because for many, evolution is no longer a theory – it is a fact. Islamically, we believe that humans are unique, created by God’s own hands and divinely inspired with His own breath, but there is nothing that rejects microevolution. When the norm of religion is no longer logical and when rationale is rejected, this is where the problem begins. It is commonplace in the media today to ridicule religion for this unfortunate generalization. So many intelligent people today have anti-religious sentiments because of the apparent intolerance and ignorance that is held by many in the religious world, including Muslims.
Islam is the most reasonable religion, for we believe it to be the truth because it is the religion of The Truth, Al-Haqq. We are not a community of robots that follow rules blindly, and our goal in this world is not simply to follow rules just for the sake of following rules. The Shari’ah and Islamic actions and regulations have been established to aid us in attaining nearness to our Creator. As Shaykh Hamza Yusuf has said, “We aren’t here to serve the rules, as the rules are here to serve us.” And on top of these set of laws, Allah (SWT) has given us ‘aql (intellect) to use and reason when necessary and much of this is cited in the hadith. For example, a sick person doesn’t have to fast, for the harms of fasting outweigh the benefits; an injured person doesn’t have to make all the physical motions necessary in prayer; a person who cannot afford the pilgrimage to Hajj need not perform it, and so on. I sincerely believe anyone who sincerely embarks on a quest of knowledge and the understanding of reality will find complete solace in Islam.

However, I would also argue that is also illogical to view the world so naively in that everything is limited to only that which can be perceived by science. To think that only the worlds observable around us are all that exist, that the soul has no meaning, and to deny the afterlife or anything higher than us is also unreasonable. Nevertheless, the fact that so many are rejecting religion for its supposed lack of reason and intolerance is testament to the fact that people ultimately want to understand one thing: the truth. True scientists and those who follow scientism sincerely are on the quest of unraveling the truth. They use the scientific methods of inquiry and investigation to study phenomenon objectively in search of the truth; and ultimately they long for what we have been blessed to know for over 1400 years. Alhamdulillah, we know The Truth, and He is responsible for everything quantifiable and beyond. It is our duty to present Islam not as an authoritarian set of rules established 1400 years ago, but as the modern dynamic deen based on a sacred tradition. Islam is simply the acknowledgement and complete submission to exactly that which is Higher, The Most Exalted (Al-Muta’ali). And the Muslim who follows His prescribed path it is not a blind follower, but rather it is the proponent of scientism who is living a life blind to true reality. I hope and pray that all those on the sincere personal quest towards the truth remain steadfast on their path, for the answer to all of their questions is The Truth (Al-Haqq), and can only be guided by The Guide (Al-Haadi).