224- The Holy Qur’an on Natural Phenomenon: Why the Qur’an employed different words for the Light of Sun and Moon? (Series: Inviting Reflections).

The Holy Qur’an is best understood in the Arabic language if one knows basic Arabic; that is why the 2nd Caliph ‘Umar b. al-Khattab R.A. always persuaded his fellow citizens of the Islamic state to learn Arabic and he is reported to have said:

"??????? ???????? ?????? ?? ?????" (Learn Arabic language as it is part of your din). Al-Bayhaqi: Shu‘ub al-Iman, V: 2, P: 257.

For the light of the sun and the moon: al-shams and al-qamar, the Holy Qur’an has used two different words. For the light which emanates from the sun, the Holy Qur’an uses the word: "daw and dia" (??? / ????); and, for the light of moon: "nur" (??? ). The derivations of the word: "?????" have also been used frequently for Allah Himself, the Qur’an, righteousness, knowledge and the higher values. Arabic lexicographers hold that “???” is a light which emanates from an object or a body which is in state of burning and combustion. It is known that the sun is a star that generates intense heat and light by its internal combustions; and the light of the moon, which is named by the Qur’an as "???", is not that light which is generated by the moon itself as it merely reflects the light received from the sun. It is further made clear when we look into the adjectives used for al-shams by the Qur’an like: "????" (lamp) and:"????? ?????"  (a blazing lamp). In the Arabic language, it is known that the word: ???? is employed for the light which emanates from the object which is in state of burning; and the word: ???? is used for the reflected light. This should also be kept in mind, while reading the Qur’an, that sometimes words can be employed metaphorically in some context or used in their referred sense.

The above topic has also been discussed in detail by a French scholar, namely: Maurice Bucaille in his book: The Bible, the Qur’an and Science.

Now, in our institutions of religious education only the rituals are being taught in Pakistan. In our history all such academic centers like one which was established in Farangi Mahal by ‘Allama Nizam ud Din Sehalvi (d. 1749 CE), Dars-e-Nizami was named after him; and, Jami’a Rahimiyyah established by Shah Waliullah Dehlawi (d. 1762 CE) used to impart comprehensive information about life in their Courses of Reading which included: engineering, medical science, mathematics, aljebra etc. in addition to religious disciplines like: tafsir, hadith, fiqh, adab, history, etc. It seems imperative now that the curricula and courses of reading in madrassas should be revised in order to bring their students in the mainstream again.   

In Islamic history there has been no distinction between religious and worldly education. In the Sub-Continent, after the Fall of Mughal Empire, the British Colonial Rulers did not close the Madrassas, instead they confiscated the “Jageers” (big land holdings) associated with those academic institutions as “Trusts”, leaving them without financial support. Only in Bengal there were 80,000 Madrassas, each with a capacity of 400 students; and ? land of Bengal was under control of these Madrassas as associated Trusts, which was confiscated under pretext of genuine ownership of the relevant madrassas. (See for details, Maj. B. D. Basu: Rise of The Christian Power in India, Calcutta, 1931). It is known that in 1844 CE, The East India Company’s Governor-General of India, Lord Henry Harding (1844-1848) issued an order that only those who knew English could join a government job in the controlled areas. Resultantly the curriculum and courses of reading in Madrassas squeezed (for non-availability of financial resources) and confined to the teaching of Rituals only.

The Colonial Rulers introduced a parallel System of Education with new Medium of Instruction and the Arabic, Persian and other Eastern languages were replaced by the English language. The new system certainly had its own merits along with a list of demerits which resulted in the Loss of Identity, production of an Elite Class with the Western World View and a big group of Functionaries that could work with the mind set of Colonial Rulers, even after their departure from the Sub-Continent. It reminds me of the Great Minute forwarded by Lord Macaulay to the British Parliament, in mid 1830s, about making English language as the medium of instruction in the Sub-Continent, he says: “We must at present do our best to form a class who may be interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern, a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinion, in morals, and in intellect.” 

Can we have our own educational system—progressive and inspired from the revealed knowledge—is a big question for ruling elites of the Muslim lands, that could further the boundaries of knowledge in all genres and walks of life. We should not forget that a big number of Qur’anic verses which deal with the natural phenomenon have not been attended to and the Muslims have always, in the last millennium and a half, been taking the Qur’an as a source of grace only rather than a source of knowledge. Had Muslims taken the Holy Qur’an as an avenue of knowledge also, today the fate of the world would have been different.