Ramadan Lecture: 22 (The Holy Qur’an as an Avenue of knowledge)

The five sense organs and extra sensory perception (ESP) are known as gates of knowledge. It is also known that our sense organs do not deliver complete information about the external world. How these sense perceptions do not impart complete knowledge of the external world? It can be understood with an example: A tree seems to be very calm and quite; whereas, its roots are constantly receiving sub-soil water; and, its leafs and branches continuously evaporate that water in the atmosphere. Our sense organs do not have the capacity to notice what is going on in the tree. In the same way a big aero plane when seen from a distance it looks like a bird. Moreover we cannot perceive any microscopic organisms we come in contact with them in our daily life. In addition to that our sense organs do not help us in understanding any metaphysical entities or those which are not corporeal or material. In fact our sense organs are deficient and do not impart full information regarding the external world. The only Subtle Source of Knowledge is Revelation. In order to know the validity and authenticity of the information imparted by the Revelation, ‘Allama Iqbal suggests two tests: The Intuitive Test and The Pragmatic Test of the Revelation.  Man, on earth, has been bestowed with a tiny part of knowledge as claimed by the Almighty Lord:

."???????????????? ???? ???????? ? ???? ???????? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ????????? ????? ????????? ?????? ????????"

(O Muhammad! And they (non-believers) ask you about the Spirit/Soul. Say, "The Spirit belongs to the domain of my Lord; and you were given only little knowledge”). Surah: 17, Verse: 85.

The Holy Qur’an is the only authentic source of knowledge about fore-going nations, pre-historic events, material and non-corporeal or metaphysical entities. A good deal of information and knowledge imparted by the Qur’an, has been verified with the advancement of knowledge in contemporary times. For example, it is now known that the Flood of Noah AS was not a Universal Flood. Some of the adulterated revealed books had claimed this flood as universal. On the contrary, the Qur’anic account is very clear in this regard:

."???????????? ??????????? ?????? ??????????"

(Then the Deluge/Flood swept them (the people of Noah); for they were wrongdoers). Surah: 29, Verse: 14.

Dear readers! After advent of Islam, except a few early centuries, it has been unfortunate that the Holy Qur’an has always been taken only as a Source of Grace and it has never been taken as an Avenue of Knowledge.

In the following, we give just two verses or parts thereof in order to show that that the contents given therein cannot be a brain-child or creation of any human being 1450 years before. Moreover the information imparted in these verses was not known in any civilization preceding the advent of Islam.

Dear Readers! The Divine Character of the Holy Qur’an can be understood from these verses about Cosmo-genesis---particularly the Creation of the Universe; therefore, these verses should be considered carefully:

I mention here only two verses or parts thereof. Allah says:

  ."???????? ???? ????????? ?????????? ????? ????????????? ??????????? ???????? ??????? ????????????????  ??????????? ???? ????????? ????? ?????? ????? ? ??????? ???????????"  

(Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as a single entity) and then We (Allah) set them apart. We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe (in Him)?) Surah 21: Verse 30.

About Cosmological Expansion Allah says:

.“????????????? ???????????? ?????????? ???????? ????????????”

(And (as for) the heaven (the space), We have built it with power, verily We are expanding it). Surah 51: Verse 47.

Here the Arabic word: "????" is a key-word which means: one mass. This word is further made clear that in Islamic Fiqh (Jurisprudence) a virgin has also been named as  "????"whose hymen is intact as one and single entity and not ruptured. It also implies that this “Single Entity”, when set apart into two or more units, every separating unit will stay independently. The “Big Bang Cosmological Model of the Universe” has affirmed in recent years that in the process of creation the heavens and the earth were conjoined as one entity in the beginning and then they were set apart. This theory, after having collected empirical evidences, further affirmed the Qur’anic statement about the cosmological acceleration and expansion of the universe. (For details, please see: “Big Bang” in Wikipedia).

More than seven hundred and fifty verses of the Qur’an, which deal with the natural phenomena and natural laws invite us for meditation and seeking guidance in order to understand our role on board of the earth and kingdom of the Almighty Lord. 

A big number of Qur’anic verses which deal with the natural phenomenon shows that 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.

For details and further explanation in the Urdu language, please click the following link:

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3awgde_lecture-22-qur-an-e-karim-as-an-avenue-of-knowledge-prof-dr-m-akram-chaudhary-former-vice-chancellor_school

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpCWsN7enSM&list=PLCRJJ1gnWed9-M3H1OXAU96-7MofbqUVR