Reconciling Religion and Science in Matters That Appear to Contradict Each Other
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The third question of Fatwa No. ( 1591 ):
Q3: How do we reconcile religion and science in matters that appear to contradict each other? For example, we learned in religion that the stars were created for three things: as adornment for the sky, as missiles against the devils, and as signs by which one is guided. We read in geography that they are a collection of celestial bodies with a specific system of rotation, and that what we observe at night burning and falling consists of meteors and shooting stars that move from one gravitational field to the Earth's gravitational field, where they burn and fall at a speed of 45 miles per second.
A3: The One who revealed the Noble Qur'an and inspired His Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) with the Shari'ah of Islam is Allah, the All-Knowing, the Wise, who created the heavens and the earth and created everything, subduing it for what He created it for, and who knows what He has deposited in it of characteristics and secrets. Therefore, it is impossible for what He has informed us of or legislated to contradict what He has created and subdued for His servants. Rather, all of it is consistent; His information and His legislation agree with His creation and His decree. His information corresponds to reality and His creation,
and His subjugation confirms the requirement of His information. If a person perceives a contradiction between Allah's information in His Book or the information of His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) established by authentic narrations, that is only due to the shortcoming of his intellect, his poor understanding, his lack of knowledge or acquisition of cosmic sciences and Shari'ah texts. An example of this is what came in the Book of Allah the Exalted in His saying:
(6) Indeed, We have adorned the nearest heaven with an adornment of stars (7) And as protection against every rebellious devil (8) [So] they may not listen to the exalted assembly [of angels] and are pelted from every side, (9) Repelled; and for them is a constant punishment, (10) Except one who snatches [some words] by theft, but they are pursued by a burning flame, piercing [in brightness].
إِنَّا زَيَّنَّا السَّمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا بِزِينَةٍ الْكَوَاكِبِ (6) وَحِفْظًا مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْطَانٍ مَارِدٍ (7) لاَ يَسَّمَّعُونَ إِلَى الْمَلإِ الأَعْلَى وَيُقْذَفُونَ مِنْ كُلِّ جَانِبٍ (8) دُحُورًا وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ وَاصِبٌ (9) إِلا مَنْ خَطِفَ الْخَطْفَةَ فَأَتْبَعَهُ شِهَابٌ ثَاقِبٌAnd We have certainly beautified the nearest heaven with stars and have made [from] them what is thrown at the devils and have prepared for them the punishment of the Blaze.
وَلَقَدْ زَيَّنَّا السَّمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا بِمَصَابِيحَ وَجَعَلْنَاهَا رُجُومًا لِلشَّيَاطِينِ وَأَعْتَدْنَا لَهُمْ عَذَابَ السَّعِيرِ(16) And We have placed within the heaven great stars and have beautified it for the observers. (17) And We have protected it from every devil expelled [from the mercy of Allah] (18) Except one who steals a hearing and is pursued by a clear burning flame.
وَلَقَدْ جَعَلْنَا فِي السَّمَاءِ بُرُوجًا وَزَيَّنَّاهَا لِلنَّاظِرِينَ (16) وَحَفِظْنَاهَا مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْطَانٍ رَجِيمٍ (17) إِلا مَنِ اسْتَرَقَ السَّمْعَ فَأَتْبَعَهُ شِهَابٌ مُبِينٌAnd it is He who placed for you the stars that you may be guided by them through the darknesses of the land and sea. We have detailed the signs for a people who know.
وَهُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ النُّجُومَ لِتَهْتَدُوا بِهَا فِي ظُلُمَاتِ الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ قَدْ فَصَّلْنَا الآيَاتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَAnd landmarks. And by the stars they are [also] guided.
وَعَلامَاتٍ وَبِالنَّجْمِ هُمْ يَهْتَدُونَof the characteristics and benefits of the stars, and they do not indicate that the benefits and merits of the stars are restricted to the three matters mentioned in them. Nor do they indicate that the shooting stars we see are restricted to the missiles with which the devils are pelted from the stars of the heavens and with which the eavesdroppers among them are pelted. Nor do they address other shooting stars, either by negation or affirmation. This is known by one who has studied the language of the Arabs and knows the tools of restriction (qasr) in their styles, which they include in their speech to convey restriction and indicate it. If it is established in cosmic sciences that there are stones and celestial bodies scattered in the atmosphere, and that they are groups, each group falling within the gravitational field of a larger planet, and that if they deviate from the gravitational field of this planet, moving away from it and closer to the gravitational field of another planet, they fall at high speed, and a fiery flame is generated from the friction of their surface with other surfaces, which is the cosmic phenomenon called shooting stars—if this is established, then it does not conflict with what came in the texts of the Islamic Shari'ah regarding the mere information about pelting the devils with shooting stars from the stars. This is because the phenomenon of shooting stars can occur from both causes, as there is nothing in cosmic sciences indicating that shooting stars are restricted to what falls from non-planets, nor is there in the texts a restriction of shooting stars to what falls from planets for pelting the devils. As for the meteors mentioned by the questioner, they are, according to geographers,
missiles that, when they fall to the surface of the earth, do not burn or turn to ash, so they are not a type of shooting star, but a type of missile distinct from shooting stars. Therefore, the questioner should verify his information and reflect on the affairs of his religion and his worldly life. May Allah have mercy on a man who knows his worth and stops at the limits of his level when he encounters difficulty. And success is from Allah. And may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.