Sami-ud-Din

Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities

Sami.uddin@riphah.edu.pk

0333-5952403

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“The study of nature”

“Natural philosophy” (Working Definition)

The meaning and character of science has changed

over the ages due to progress or retrogress. (atom

indivisible/ divisible particle)

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Progress in Material Science is due to closed

relationship with natural Philosophy the closer the

relationship greater the progress and vice versa

هم أنه الحق سهم حتى يتبين ل سنريهم آياتنا في الفاق وفي أنف

(53:فصلت)شيء شهيد أولم يكف برب ك أنه على كل

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The art of searching unity in the diversity of life

and cosmos.

“all science is the search for unity in hidden

likeness” (Bronowski)

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J. Bronowski, “The Nature of Scientific Reasoning in the Norton Reader

4

Unifying apparently diverse and often,

disconnected objects and scientific phenomena.

Our Methodology: Unifying apparently diverse

and often disconnected objects and events that

occur under the phenomena of natural sciences and

social sciences.

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Natural forces cause:

natural phenomena

social forces cause

social phenomena

Natural Phenomena ₊ Spiritual Phenomena ₊ Social Phenomena

Modern Science

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The unity or the Oneness, which will be the object of our Scientific Endeavour,

Oneness operates at two levels:

1. At Structural Levels,

2. At Functional Levels and

3. At Spiritual Levels

4. Social Levels

Philosophers, thinkers, scientists, Gnostics, theologians and poets have all touched upon this unity in different ways.

This central theme of unity uniformly pervades natural philosophy, especially in the Islamic context, right from ancient to present times.2

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2: Response of the Muslim Spirit to Twentieth Century Science by: Muhammad Sabieh Anwar

7

Heraclitus in the six century BC had

proclaimed that

1. “All things are one”.

2. “The Law is to follow the will of the One”.

3. “Wisdom consists in a single thing only,

namely: to know the thought which governs

and orders everything” 6

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6. Roger Garaudy: the balance sheet of western philosophy

pge:170 vol. 2 no. 2 the American Journal of Islamic Social

Sciences 8

Unity in the structure of universe

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First, the structural unity of nature is its unity of form. Despite the seemingly infinite forms, colors, aromas, textures, sounds, materials, creatures – living and non-living, abounding our universe, we can all appreciate a bond of material unity.

Universe is an one-organic-whole like human body 3

Sayyed A. A Maudoodi says: The Universe is indivisible whole 4

الشمس ر وسخ العرش علىاستوىثم هاترون عمد بغير السماوات رفع الذياللىلجل يجريكل والقمر ل ر الم يدب ر مسم (2)توقنون رب كم ء بلقالعلكم اليات يفص زوجين يهاف جعل الثمرات كل ومن هاراوأن رواسي فيهاوجعل الرض مد الذيوهو قطع الرض وفي(3)يتفكرون لقوم ات لي ذلك فيإن النهار الليل يغشياثنين

واحد بماء يسقىصنوان وغير نوان ص ونخيل وزرع أعناب من وجنات متجاورات ل تعجب وإن (4)يعقلون لقوم ليات ذلك يف إن الكل فيبعض علىبعضهاونفض الغلل وأولئك هم برب كفرواالذين أولئك جديد ق خل لفيأإناتراباكناأإذاقولهم فعجب

(:513)الدون خ فيهاهم النار أصحاب وأولئك أعناقهم في

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The Reality of Time: Case Studies in Argument Evaluation

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Towards Understanding Islam p. 95

all physical entities are composed from only a hundred and ten or so different chemical species, which we call elements

Aristotle says four elements have caused life:

1. Fire

2. Air

3. Water

4. Mud or dust

جبروتوقدوسیوغفاریوقہاریمسلمانہےبنتاتوہوںعناصرچاریہ

Natural Phenomena ₊ Social Phenomena Modern Science

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Levity

Gravity

Mud FireWaterAir

We are indeed put to wonder when we come to think of the fact that all the astonishing diversity teeming around us reduces to at least some level of simplicity, encoded in just a finite number of elements.

At a more miniature level, the elements could also be reduced to some very fundamental particles and even further, to abstract mathematical quantities such as mass, spin and charge.

But there is still confusion about the number of sub particles of atom.

Modern biological research also suggests, that there is an astonishing structural simplicity and unity across the living species, in the genetic material that is the “crypt” of form and behaviour.

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100 Elements

Mass, Spin and Charge

20 Amino acids that control countless

functions in human body

Four elements Fir, Air, Water and Dust

Atoms

One Hundred Thousand genes comprising

only four different nitrogenous bases,

encoding all forms of manifestations of life.

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there are only twenty essential amino acids that

virtually control countless functions in the human

body, ranging from the blinking of an eye to the

incessant beating of the heart.

12/19/2017Structures of amino acids 14

Again, there are only one hundred thousand genes,

comprising only four different nitrogenous bases,

encoding all forms of manifestations of life. It is

not suggesting to saying that we understand all of

these manifestations and their relations to the

genetic code, but nevertheless, there is remarkable

unity in the physico-chemical content of all natural

existences. Therefore, the structural unity in nature

is the simplicity of the material, or the “stuff” from

which substances are made up of.

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ماءخلقناوما أنأردنالو(16)لعبينمابينه وماوالرضالسنامنلتخذناه لهوانتخذ ناإنلد بالحق نقذف بل(17)فاعلينك (18)ونتصف مماالويل ولك م زاهق ه وفإذافيدمغ ه الباطلعلىماواتفيمنوله ونلنده عومنوالرضالس نعيستكبر

ونولعبادته ونلهاروالنالليلي سب ح ون(19)يستحسر يفت ر (20:21)

شد تبينقد فقدللباوي ؤمنبالطاغ وتف ريكفمنالغي منالرثقىبالع روةاستمسك لهاامانفصلالو عليم سميع وللا

(2562:)

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Functional Unity

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The laws according to which nature is governed,

can only be reduced to some very simple

frameworks. The falling of an apple onto the

ground, the shining of our sun which is the fuel for

all life on earth, the burning of a log of fire and the

orchestrated dance of a butterfly, are all controlled

and understood in terms of simple principles or

laws.

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لفسد ال لو كان فيهما آلهة إل الل رب ا تا فسبحان الل عرش عم

ا يفعل وهم ي ( 22)يصفون أم اتخذوا من ( 23)سألون ل يسأل عم

بلي بل ر من معي وذكر من ق دونه آلهة قل هاتوا برهانكم هذا ذك

ون أكثرهم ل يعلمون الحق فهم مع ( :2421)ر

ل إله إل هو الحي القيوم ه ما في ل تأخذه سنة ول نوم ل الل

إذنه يعلم ما يشفع عنده إل ب السماوات وما في الرض من ذا الذي

بما شاء طون بشيء من علمه إل بين أيديهم وما خلفهم ول يحي

و العلي ل يئوده حفظهما وه وسع كرسيه السماوات والرض و

(:2552)العظيم

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These postulates could be understood to be the

habit of nature. As an example, the interactions

between all particles present in our universe are all

controlled by just two or three forces and a major

thrust in modern science remains to unify these

forces into just one.

حمن م الذي خلق سبع سماوات طباقا ما ت ن رى في خلق الر

ثم ارجع البصر ( 3)فطور تفاوت فارجع البصر هل ترى من

تين ينقلب إليك البصر خ (67:3,4)اسئا وهو حسير كر

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The pinnacle of the grand unification theory or the

GUT as it is called, is to reach at just one simple

and beautiful mathematical equation that unifies

all the major theories claiming to be faithful

representations of our natural environment. By

changing the conditions in this extremely powerful

and far-reaching equation, one could for example,

explain anything from a honeybee’s whisper to a

supernova explosion!

The British philosopher of physics, John Polkinghorne suggests that the only

unification ever possible is a unified theology, and not a unified science

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The principle of “Islamic science”, if there were

such a term to be justifiably used, used was that

the cosmos is to be viewed as one organic whole³.

Islamic science aimed at unraveling the inherent

unity in nature, finding a vertical unity in the many

horizontal folds of multiplicity.

12/19/2017S.H. Nasar “Science and Civilization in Islam” 22

Moreover, the unity of nature is to be seen as a

reflection of the Unity of Allah. The design of the

universe is such that it necessarily leads to the

existence of a Supreme Cause – the Divine Being,

which we call Allah.³

Universe is an one-organic-whole like human body

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3. Muhammad Sabieh Anwar, The response of Muslim Mind and

Spirit to the 20th Century Sciencee 23

Nevertheless, the Muslim scientific endeavor

remained a constant exercise of searching for

unity. Natural Unity became a direct witness to the

Unity of Allah and natural order became a stark

reflection of Divine leadership. It was this very

Islamic science that became a Unitarian approach

of looking at nature and a straightforward

extension of the treasure hunt for the ayat or signs

pointing towards a higher monotheism,

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ن لهم أنه نفسهم حتى يتبي سنريهم آياتنا في الفاق وفي أ

(53:لتفص)على كل شيء شهيد الحق أولم يكف برب ك أنه

فل تبصرون وفي أنفسكم أ ( 20)وفي الرض آيات للموقنين

(2151:20,)

Therefore for Muslims, in their times of

ascendance, science had a meaning only in the

matrix of Islam, or the fabric of Unity. So much so,

“science” didn’t have an expression in Arabic

other than the all-embracive term “ilm”. Science

was nothing over and above the quest for Tauheed,

it was a human attempt at deciphering a cosmic

unity, reflective of a higher unity.

“Arts and sciences in Islam are based on unity*

12/19/2017* S.H.Nasr, “Science and Civilisation in Islam”. 25

The modern science is laden with

quantitative world view of the Western

Scientists why the Muslim Science is

objective and having alignment with natural

discourse.

Due to this reason the response of a Muslim

must be different from the response of a

non-Muslim to the Modern Science.

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In Islamic view point science and Religion are not twodifferent entities but both are one organ and science isdeclared as the poster sister of the religion of Islam.That is why every Muslim researcher has started hisresearch with the Bismillah and then declaring theProphet Muhammad (ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص) is the source of knowledgeand has finished his work with thanking Allah tofurnish a way for his work. Muslims had gotten everyuseful knowledge from where they found. Muslimswere considering progress in science useful ininheritance, legacies, partitions, law suits and trade andin all their dealings with one another; or wheremeasuring of lands, digging of canals, geometricalcomputation and other objects of various kinds areconcerned

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