Relationship between Science and Religion in Islam - Dissertation Example

Relationship between science and religion in Islam Introduction: The purpose of this paper is to be able to explain about the relationship between science and religion in Islam. It will also dig deeper into seeking the main factor that affects the relationship between science and religion in Islam. With this said, this paper will study further on the subject to be able to find out the benefits as well as the consequences of when science and religion are merged as a way to promote social equity and awareness in the society. This will entail a more profound exploration of the essentials of religion and science, providing a better understanding on how certain issues such as the enlightenment of religion can enhance structural integrity that can help individuals fully grasp the essence and the reality of religion and science. With this study, we aim to deliver high quality insights that would prevent constructive stereotypes on the topic that affects our community in general (Harrison, n.p.). Religion is a belief in a higher being that results to a certain person or community practices in line with a certain divine or moral law in order to improve oneself and be further brought closer to a relationship to an all-powerful and all-knowing spiritual being. The practice of this belief most people call “religion” entails a series of ethical principles that highly motivates and influences human practices and behavior towards reaching a noble goal, the good of the whole community. This being said, religion before and today is considered as an important guiding instrument & an important source for human beings to lean towards the good and constantly repel our inner nature of being evil, which through constant practice develops good manners and right conduct. Religion is also one of the strongest forces that enable one to develop positive vibes within oneself and prevent unruly behaviors easily caused by imperfect circumstances and challenges being faced from day to day. Because most people revere a certain kind of religion, each one is awarded with a sensitive conscience that reminds one of what is right and wrong, allowing one to have control over one’s attitude towards unwanted issues that could encourage actions that potentially harm other individuals, groups, and communities. Islam is considerably one of the largest religions in the world who call their god “Allah”. Today, there are at least more than a billion members that practice this particular religion that originated for more than millennium years ago. However, with all the many religious groups having their own version of salvation and reverence for a certain being, science, on the other hand, seeks to explain the presence of life and death to a system of knowledge based on scientific studies and experimentation aided by technology. What differentiates science from religion is that the former addresses issues we face as human beings using evidences in order to help clarify situations which is deemed as more beneficial and realistic in the aspect of learning. Conversely, though both have a different take on the reality of life and death, both are always interconnected in the meaning-making activity of people. Relationship of science and religion in Islam 1. Political relationships: The role of politics with respect to Islam is highly regarded as its parallel ground for implementing rules and regulations. Islam is always dedicated to provide the rights of man. Thus, to be able to achieve a full life, one needs to preserve the life of men at all times. To be able to do so, a person should have the right to know everything in this world to fully maximize the intellectual wisdom we human beings are capable of. Thus, it drives every Muslim to promote education or the feeding of knowledge to be able to know more about our society where Science now comes into picture. With the help of Science, Muslims gain a deeper understanding of things not only based on theories but is instead backed up by studies and experimentation that leads one to become more productive with their personal and professional life, making each a productive member of the society. This is why Islamic laws are always concerned about the ability of each Islam to become a valued citizen to their countries by allowing them to associate with the visionaries of science to better understand their environment in order to prevent issues of abuse in the near future. 2. Economical: Religion should always render economic related issues, which helps to demonstrate about the importance of being adept to business because being able to provide for oneself and live a comfortable life is believed to be what God has planned for every being, plans of prospering him. Just like Muslims, Islam believers are urged by their own governments in their communities to be knowledgeable about business. This includes budgeting, financial awareness, and knowing how to establish their businesses to bring further glory to God by serving oneself and most especially others. Aside from the promotion of economic soundness in society that drives every Muslim to always be aware of keeping their efforts to budget their money, being knowledgeable about business also brings every Muslim to reach a certain level of fame and power which is also one of the higher needs of man to find fulfilment and satisfaction in life. All these are the driving forces for Muslims to further embrace the understanding and study of science because only through it would they be able to come up with realistic and effective strategies to reach their goals in life which in the end will also benefit their socio-economic integrity. Indeed, economics known as the science of business became an important structure in Islamic culture, encouraging Muslims to always seek to promote competitiveness on how to become financially stable to better function well as an organization. Without economic stability of each individual or family in society, the society as a whole will suffer. With this, science and religion work together to help improve the maintenance of financial values as well as knowing more about the future productivity brought about by the principles of religion. 3. Education: In connection with the privilege that has been provided by the political parties in a Muslim environment, each Muslim is encouraged to enroll themselves to academic institutions. This is a regular practice to all Muslims to become more subjective with their inquisition to learn more about their environment and not easily believe established theories or principles immediately. As learning is the science of knowing practices, beliefs, principles, and experiences in order to increase knowledge to a certain practice, phenomenon, or a belief, Islam believes that when people have more wisdom gained through reading and writing scripts, they become more productive and work rendered becomes of high quality. Also, they believe that one never stops learning and every day, one should not miss an opportunity to learn new things. And with a continuous practice of which, Muslims can enhance their knowledge to expand on a continuous basis. This is the reason why Muslims become successful with their professional lives as well as personal endeavors because they are highly skilled and knowledgeable to a certain level that increases their structural integrity through time. In addition, Muslims always want to learn because they believe that knowing something helps to improve their life status wherever they go and whatever they do. 4. Communication relationship: It is always indicated from Quran that Muslims should always take part in sharing knowledge and values to others. In this case, a Muslim is always free to talk and is encouraged to discuss about any discipline, principle, and study to others for as long as it can provide a significant impact to the society. This belief is once again related to the use of science as sharing insights that would be beneficial for society would need to have the presence of strong evidences first before certain knowledge can benefit a Muslim brother. The absence of sound proofs of different insights can only distract, confuse or deceive people. What is good about when science and religion work together would be that it provides more harmony between two or more individuals who are now experiencing the challenge of promoting their values and interests to each other. Due to the fact that science and religion under Islam are strongly interconnected, the notion of Islamic values can be shared using scientific principles in order to understand more about the values and practices of this particular religion (Russell, p. 344). 5. Nature relationship: Basing from Islamic principles, nature is no different with science. It is because they see nature as part of Islamic practice that represents their God’s essence and power. This further affirms the concept that with all that is created in this world, non-living and living beings, someone all-powerful should be behind all these which again points to the presence of a god, which religion seeks to explain. According to the Quran, nature is indicated from some of its verse and chapters that nature is a changing process that is compatible with the theoretical perspectives of science. All practices that pertain to nature can be based on the scientific principles on associating Islam to science through nature. In this case, the mutual agreement that can be closely associated with the practice of science can help endure the possibilities of reflecting theoretical perspectives to be compatible with Islamic faith through acts, beliefs and values in the long run. Thus, the mention of nature and how it works in the Quran is only affirmed, explained and given much analysis through science which makes one’s understanding of the world and all that is in it complete. 6. Spiritual relationship: It is said that there are principles in Islamic faith that can be defined clearer with the application of theological principles. This once again is connected to science because the practice of religious principles that is responsible for allowing individuals to learn more about Quran is supported by governing principles of science. What this means is that in the field of Islam, there is a considerable compatibility of science with religion because Quran does not dispute the theories and objectives that are being implied by science but further reinforce it. This is due to the perception of their Supreme Being, which does not restrict other fields of knowledge such as science to be negated by it. Religious faith alone can adjust with other perspectives and theoretical bodies of knowledge for as long as there will be no objection or opposition to the practices and values of Islam. However, as science and religion are two different bodies of knowledge which is deeply rooted in different foundations, each of their theoretical principles should comply with the values and interests of each such that Islam basing from the scripts of Quran is given a freehand at conveying more interests to improve more with the values of religion that benefits all Muslim brothers (Numbers, p. 218). Conceptual relationship 1. Evolution: In the field of human evolution, Islam believes that humans do evolve from a gradual natural selection process. Places include Kazakhstan, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan. However, people from Saudi, Yemen, Oman, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, and Nigeria have few acceptances with the human evolution process. However, there are verses in the Quran that states about the creation of the Universe as well as the planet Earth by God that are generalized and conceptualized in scientific principles. Though it means that there is a higher being who is capable of creating us, it does not also disqualifies the accepted view regarding the process of natural change in our environment that is not against the practice of Islam. This is the reason why Muslims does not dispute about the structure of human evolution, which is in contrast with the practice of other religions such as Christianity and Buddhism all over the world. 2. Health: This is a concept where the practice of science becomes dependent with Islam. It is because health is always a practice that utilizes principles focused on the physical, mental and spiritual condition of a man which can further bring him or her closer to god or the opposite. We all know that health as wealth allows one to have the capability to go beyond what is seen or heard with the help of circumspection about our actions that affect the quality of life we have. With this said, Muslims believe that science works better when seeking medical treatments because there are always accurate and effective outcomes that can be associated with the practices of science that can be applied with them as Muslims. When dealing with history, the relationship between religion and Islam have been harmonious when it comes to religion for the reason that there were numerous advantages as well as progressive outcomes that can be portrayed by this particular perception. Health has been practiced under the discipline of medical science. It means that all theoretical practice and knowledge that concerns with scientific practice has been closely associated with the essence of evidences, skills, and perspectives that would help to restore life, which is acceptable under Islamic faith. Benefits of Islamic religion to science 1. Lessening conflicts: It has been observed that there are lesser conflicting interests that were associated with the linking of religion with Islamic religion. It is because Muslims are now appreciating the benefits and values of science that is an important perspective and application to human activities. With the help of science, people are now preventing themselves to be arguing with other individuals because they could finally realize that there is something about science that makes them productive. Muslims are always involved in science that is why they are starting to appreciate it and for not being too dependent on the practice of religious perspectives that could liberalize their practice and beliefs. In this case, there are lower risks that can be associated with criminal behaviors that intend to harm other individuals due to differences in personal perspectives of science as compared from before. 2. Integrating science to religious practice: Islam accepts the role of science in their religious practice. It is because for as long as it benefits their religious practice and value, they continue to associate several scientific principles in some of their practices. This includes the art and discipline of engineering and construction. This can be based from the measurements and the computation of elements, distances, and other materials that will help to construct religious sites such as Mosques. Engineering practice is a branch of science that intends to apply mathematical equations that helps to provide accurate measurements to a certain structure being built. Another is about the use of technology because as a Muslim, it is important to utilize machineries that are being used to publish Islamic articles and other materials in order to strengthen Islamic faith. Reproducing Quran replicas or copies is a way to help spread Islamic faith across the globe(Islam and Science, n.p.). Implication As a conclusion, it has been implied that the relationship between science and religion Islam is considered to be harmonious. It is because Islam is one of the rare religions that do not totally reject the practice of science. Basing from the book of Quran, there has been no indications of total rejection or opposition that is attributed with Islamic practice. It can be observed that religion is closely associated with the practice of Islam because the principles and values do not reject scientific applications for as long as it is beneficial to Muslim brotherhood. This has been an issue of respect because Muslims regard science as a beneficial application of theorems in connection with their personal and professional affairs. This condition is more liberalized than the principles of other religions such as Christians and Buddhists because Muslims believes that there are more beneficial actions that can be extracted from Islam. As a recommendation, education should be still implied with Muslim brothers because the younger generation could have more knowledge and skills to be absorbed. Learning more insights and values could help their practices and beliefs to be more accepted and versatile with Islamic principles. Learning can help improve the practice of understanding new values and culture. Since Islam is a monotheistic religion, there are more insights that can be acquired from this particular discipline. The reason behind for learning more about Islam is all about understanding their practices and beliefs that could benefit human activities. Islam is a religion that is consistent with having a connection with the physical world. This means that they can adapt to several principles and practice that they know it will be beneficial with their personal and professional affairs that prevents risks of being involved in conflicts with other individuals or groups in the future (Muzaffar, n.p.). Works Cited  "Islam and science - concordance or conflict?". The Review of Religions. 2013. Print. Harrison, Peter, the Cambridge Companion to Science and Religion. Cambridge. 2010. Print. Muzaffar Iqbal. Science & Islam. Greenwood Press. 2009. Print. Numbers, Ronald. "Myth 24: That Creationism is a Uniquely American Phenomenon". In Ronald Numbers. Galileo Goes to Jail and Other Myths About Science and Religion. Harvard University Press. pp. 215–223. 2009. Print.  Russell, Robert John. Cosmology: From Alpha to Omega. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press. p. 344. 2008. Print. Read More