ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Science and Our Ummah Supplement 1 Prophet Noah (A) is quoted in the Quran as saying to his people: He said, "My Lord, l have called my people by night and by day, but my call­ing has only increased them in flight...and I said, Ask you forgiveness of your Lord; surely He is ever All-forgiving..., that you look not for majesty in God, seeing He created you by stages?

Have you not regarded how God created seven heavens one upon another, and set the moon therein for a light and the sun for a lamp? And God cause you to grow out of the earth, then He shall return you into it, and bring you forth. And God has laid the earth for you as a carpet, and thereof you may tread ways, ravines.' " (71:5-20) Obviously, it is not for everyone to be able to read the "book" of the universe.

The Quran considers only men of knowledge to be capable of benefiting from the book of nature as can be seen from the follow­ing verse: Hast thou not seen how that God sends down out of heaven water, and there­with We bring forth fruits of diverse hues? And in the mountains are streaks White and red, of diverse hues, and pitchy black; men too, and beasts and cattle?,diverse are their hues. Even so only those of His servants fear God who have knowledge; surely God is Almighty, All-forgiving.

(35:27-8) The Quran regards only men of knowledge as being capable of discerning the majesty and magnificence of God's creation and as possessing the humility produced by their knowledge of Divine power and greatness. This point is stressed in other verses of the Quran: And these similitudes?We strike them for the people, but none understands them save those who know.

(29:43) Nay; rather it is signs, clear signs' in the breasts of those who have been given knowledge; and none denies Our signs but the evildoers. (29:49) Obviously, as implied by the abovementioned verses, understanding of the "signs" of the Creator, is considered possible only for the learned and the men of knowledge who have strived to fathom the secrets of nature and have acquired knowledge in their fields of study.

Otherwise, only a superficial acquaintance with the "book of creation" is not very revealing. A suitable initiation into this book of nature can only be achieved through such sciences as mathematics, physics, chemi­stry, astronomy, botany, zoology (which we shall refer to as `natural sciences').