Science and religion do not have to be exclusive of each other, a speaker said Monday evening at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art.
The Muslim Students Association hosted Hassanain Rajabali, Islam lecturer, to speak about “Science in the Quran.” The Quran is the holy book for Islam.
The event was part of a series in “Islam Awareness Month,” devoted to breaking down myths about the Islamic faith.
“The purpose of this month is to promote an understanding of the Quran and aid in stopping misconceptions around the world about this faith,” said Anum Syed, Muslim Students Association vice president.
Rajabali graduated from the University of Colorado with a degree in microbiology and psychology, Syed said.
He also visited OU last year to talk about good and evil in Islam and was so popular they brought him back this year.
He said one does not have to limit oneself to science or religion, and science cannot control everything.
Science is a study of systems, but religion controls ethics and purpose, Rajabali said.
“Science and religion are perfectly reconcilable,” he said. “Ethicists control empiricists. If science ruled all, this would be otherwise. You must not limit yourself to say science can answer everything.”
One of the key themes Rajabali touched on was the Quran encourages and references scientific thought throughout its religious text.
“The Quran has over 650 verses that have a direct correlation with scientific observation,” Rajabali said.
“But we must understand that the Quran is not a book that ... uses words such as ‘atom,’ ‘forces,’ or ‘gravity.’ You have to understand that the Quran is timeless and not limited, so it uses general terms.”
He gave several examples of the Quran and popular scientific thought agreeing with one another. For example, Rajabali read a passage about the creation of the Earth from the Quran, saying they were once one, and God unraveled it. Rajabali said this is similar to today’s Big Bang theory about how the universe began.
Rajabali also mentioned the Islamic perspective on evolution versus creationism. The Quran does not disagree with evolution — it even has a verse saying all things came from one. However, evolution does not disprove the existence of a being controlling evolution.
“Lack of evidence is never evidence,” Rajabali said. “That’s unscientific. Just because it is not falsifiable, does not mean that it does not exist.”
Famous scientists throughout history have been religious and did not suspend faith in order to practice science, such as Charles Darwin or Albert Einstein, Rajabali said.
History proves science and religion do not have to be at odds with one another, he said.
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ab167 2 years, 1 month ago
mythman, I think miraculous events are generally considered not to be a part of this discussion. It looks like all the things you listed are one-time-only miracles, not the Laws of Nature according to the Quran.
Not that I advocate using religious books as science texts, not by any stretch of the imagination-- but I do think discussions like this are useful within reason. People can be religious without being anti-science nut-jobs, and I think that is a plus, no matter what your perspective.
mythman 2 years, 1 month ago
Tell me how these events described in the Quran have a "direct correlation with scientific observation”:
...and more. If these are events that actually happened, then they conflict with science. If they are stories and metaphors, then why should we take the rest of this book as anything but?
mythman 2 years, 1 month ago
ab167, I consider miraculous events a very important part of this discussion, because miracles are in direct conflict with the Laws of Nature. Everything in my list is scientifically testable phenomena. The moon was not split in two, Jinn do not exist, and it is not possible for ants to talk, mutilated birds to return to life, or clay to become a living bird (if you disagree, show me the evidence!). The claim that the Quran does not contradict science is demonstrably false.
cfdman 2 years, 1 month ago
mythman,
check this out.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article5672006.ece
mythman 1 year, 8 months ago
cfdman,
That article discusses how ants communicate with each other using chirping sounds and chemicals (which I admit is quite interesting in of itself), but the Quran claims ants used human speech to communicate with Solomon. If that claim is true, just provide me with the scientific articles proving that ants can speak Hebrew (if not, any human language would do).