By Nura Jibo MRICS
My dear Dr. Aminu, I had a nice moment reading through your very good explanation on the nuances of science and religion. While you were able to clearly explain your understanding of the two by defining the former as dynamic and the latter as static, I have this simple observation.
For me, both science and religion(Islam) are dynamic and in tandem with each other in terms of reconciliation. Our religious tenets and interpretation of war and the historical antecedents that revealed how prophets fought war on horses and camels, for example, as the things /war instruments to ride-on and engage combats, are no longer static in the modern world. To say the least, how could one fight a war in this modern world by riding on a horse’s or camel’s back? The religious interpretation on war fighting instruments and the narrations in the four holy books, were based on static or/and inertial usage of traditional method of war fighting instruments. However, the dynamical usage of modern equipment such as warplanes and other fighter jets by certain religious proponents nowadays perfectly debunk the claim that religion is static.
What is more understandable and robust to me finds candour in interpreting the duo as complimentary or better put, religion and science go hand in hand, and are in perfect harmony. Probably, when our level of religious understanding does not reach the apex of religious scientific explanations on certain nuances, one can confuse the two as static and dynamic. A simple listening of Prof. Zaglool’s Islam and science scholarly lectures could bail one out of this mixed feelings on the duo.
There are certain things in life that religion had already defined in a scientific way. A typical advice here is the reading of all the holy books from scientific viewpoints. Check out how planes are shuttling daily in the air. The physics and chemistry of Aeroplanes go beyond the ordinary science. Especially, when one looks at the way the flight engines defy clockwise movement by revolving in an anticlockwise direction. The engine sucks air and use it to go against gravity. And all these if you study “Al thair” (flying bird) and the way Allah SWT explained its movement in the holy book, one can’t be far-fetched from the scientific fact that religion is dynamic and it goes far to explain most of the scientific connotations that we are grappling with today.
Of course, as a medical doctor, you have encountered so many challenges in dealing with dying patients. But the simple religious explanation is: No any known or unknown medical doctor can stop a patient from dying. Wa kalimatullah hiyal ulya. Again, the beauty in science and religion is simple. Where is human soul located in the human body either it is in the heart or brain is a subject for another dynamic and inertia/moving forces that I will be very glad to share ideas someday.
Nura Jibo MRICS.
