And prepare against them what force you can.

And prepare against them what force you can...so that you may dismay the enemy of God and your enemy and others beside them whom you know not; God knows them. Whatever you spend in the way of God it will be repaid to you in full, and you will not be cheated. (8:60) And is it not true that in our world today, possession of defence facilities to face the enemies of Islam requires all kinds of scientific and technical know?how?

Then why don't the Muslims give the neces­sary attention to the issue of preparing themselves adequately for their self-defence? In the modern age, human life is inextricably linked with the effort for scientific advancement and the key to success in all affairs lies in knowledge. It is an obligation of Muslim scholars and researchers, living in the countries of the Eastern or Western block and are engaged in education, to acquire the latest and most complete scientific and tech­nical knowledge.

Otherwise their societies will inevitably remain under the domination of one superpower or another. Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (A) says: A knowledgeable man who is abreast of his time will not be overwhelmed by unexpected problems. [^26] To sum up, if the Muslims want to succeed in their struggle against the evil powers of this age, they should equip themselves with the essentials of scientific advancement and endeavour to make up their lag in scientific and technical fields.

Whatever subject is essential for safe­guarding the existence and vitality of the islamic societies should be learnt. The Holy Quran invites mankind to study the system and scheme of creation, the wonders of nature and the causes and effects of all things that exist, the conditions of living organisms, and in short all signs of God discernable in the external universe and the inner depths of the human soul.

The Quran enjoins thought and meditation about all aspects of creation and requires human beings to apply their reason and perceptual faculties for the discovery of the secrets of nature. Few of these verses we shall quote here: What, have they not beheld heaven above them, how We have built it, and decked it out fair, and it has no cracks?

And the earth?We stretched it forth, and cast on it firm mountains, and We caused to grow therein of every joyous kind for an insight and a reminder to every penitent servant. (50:7) What do they not consider how the camel was created, how heaven was lifted up, how the mountains were hoisted, how the earth was outstretched?