Surah 1-2 - YasSarNal QuR'aN

Al-Baqarah (The Cow) | THE SACRED MONTHS, FIGHTING AND PILGRIMAGEobservation, experiment and scientific research, to probe the mysteries of life and theuniverse and make the appropriate conclusions — which could never, in any case, besaid to be final or absolute.The basic raw material with which the Qur’ān is concerned is man himself: theway he views things around him, his beliefs, emotions and ideas, his behaviour andactivity, and the ties and relationships that govern his life. The conduct anddevelopment of material science and innovation are left to man’s mental andintellectual capabilities and his diligent endeavour to know and understand. It is thisknowledge and understanding that are the essential prerequisites for man to fulfil hisdivinely ordained mission in the world, for which he is naturally fitted and qualified.The Qur’ān nurtures man’s basic nature and protects it against deviation andcorruption. It provides man with the moral, social, political and economicfoundations and mechanisms that enable him to put his talents and skills to full andproper use. It furnishes him with a broad and comprehensive view of the nature, theinherent harmony, and the delicate balance of the physical world, of which manhimself is an important and integral part, and its relationship with the Creator.The Qur’ān does not cover such topics in great detail, because that is man’s task.He is expected to take the initiative to search, discover and use his environment inorder to further and fulfil his supreme position in the world.The attempt to make the Qur’ān what it was never meant to be often seems naïveand counter-productive. The fact that the Qur’ān is not a reference book for medicineor chemistry or astronomy takes nothing away from its power and glory.The Qur’ān and Scientific TruthThe Qur’ān deals with something much wider and more comprehensive than allthose sciences. It is concerned with man himself, the key to uncovering the facts andmysteries of the world around. The human mind is fully equipped to scrutinize andprobe into man’s surroundings, and to experiment with and apply the theories heformulates and the tools he invents. The Qur’ān concentrates on nurturing man’scharacter, conscience and mind, and laying the sound foundations of the humanenvironment which allows him to make full use of his own hidden potential and thatof the world around. Having laid down the groundwork and given man thenecessary mental tools and criteria, the Qur’ān leaves man free to seek and search,experiment, achieve and make mistakes, in all areas of life.There is also a great risk in attempting to seek verification of facts of a scientificnature given occasionally in the Qur’ān through suppositions, theories or so-called‘scientific facts’ arrived at through human empirical efforts.220