In The Name of Allaah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy.

Allāh Sent The Messengers With Clear Proofs, Revealed The Scripture And The Balance, And Sent Down Iron In Which There Is Many Benefits For Humankind

Imaam As-Sadi [may Allaah have mercy upon him] said:

Allāh [The Most High] said:

لقد أرسلنا رسلنا بالبينات وأنزلنا معهم الكتاب والميزان ليقوم الناس بالقسط وأنزلنا الحديد فيه بأس شديد ومنافع للناس وليعلم الله من ينصره ورسله بالغيب إن الله قوي عزيز

Indeed We have sent Our Messengers with clear proofs, and revealed with them the Scripture and the Balance (justice) that mankind may keep up justice. And We brought forth iron wherein is mighty power (in matters of war), as well as many benefits for mankind, that Allah may test who it is that will help Him (His religion), and His Messengers in the unseen. Verily, Allah is All-Strong, All-Mighty. [Surah Hadeed Aayah 25]

Allāh [The Most High] informs us that He sent the Messengers to guide the creation [i.e. humankind and Jinn] and supported them with clear proofs which clearly manifest the realities, demonstrated the truthfulness of the Messengers and the reality of that which they came with. And He revealed with them the Scripture wherein there is guidance and mercy, and revealed with them the Balance, which is justice and through which justice is known, and its foundations and branches, so that humankind may keep up justice when they act upon it in their beliefs, manners, deeds, behaviour and in all their affairs. So, all their affairs and circumstances will be established upon righteousness and steadfastness when they act upon that which Allāh revealed in the Scripture and the Balance.

And Allāh [The Most High] informs us that He sent down iron wherein there is mighty power [in matters of war] as well as many benefits for humankind, and He specifically mentioned its benefits in matters of war and then generalized it in all other matters. Allāh sent down iron for the [purpose] of these beneficial, indispensable matters and affairs that bring about perfection – in specific and in general. All things are in need of iron, except very few. Indeed, Allāh mentioned it in the context of the favours He has bestowed on the servants, and this necessitates that these benefits are extracted through every way. And it necessitates education in military expertise and affairs of war, manufacture of weapons and its accessories, maritime transport, land transportation, aircrafts and other things that benefit the servants in their religious and worldly affairs, just as Allāh [The Most High] said:

[وأعدوا لهم ما استطعتم من قوة ومن رباط الخيل ترهبون به عدو الله وعدوكم- And make ready against them all you can of power, including steeds of war (tanks, planes, missiles, artillery, etc.) to threaten the enemy of Allah and your enemy]. [Surah Al-Anfaal. Aayah 60]

Allāh said: [وخذوا حذركم – Take every precaution for yourselves]. [Surah An-Nisaa 102]

So, this deals with the affair of preparing all that is possible of power – mentally [intellectually], politically, materially and religiously, and taking every precaution against the enemies through every means and way. All the small crafts [industries] and big ones, the inventions and defense [fortifications] are included in this generality. Therefore, this Islamic religion urges towards sound progress and strength in all respects contrary to what its enemies fabricate that it is impotent, remiss and threadbare. They know their lies and slander regarding it, but self-importance and arrogance became convenient for them. And out of their ignorance, they think that they have embellished their speech and made it vague so that the sensible people will not know its meaning, although every sensible person knows their lies and slander; rather only the ignorant and misguided are deceived by them – those who do not know about Islam, neither a little nor a lot; but these enemies portray an evil image of Islaam to them in order to embellish that which they utter of falsehood. Otherwise, whoever knows Islam with a sound acquaintance, he knows that indeed the religious and worldly affairs of humans cannot be established in an upright manner except through it. And that indeed its wise teachings are the greatest proof that it is indeed a revelation from the All-Wise, Worthy of all praise (Allāh); The Knower of all the Unseen and The Seen, Merciful to His servants and hence ordained this religion for them, about which He stated:

لقد من الله على المؤمنين إذ بعث فيهم رسولا من أنفسهم يتلو عليهم آياته ويزكيهم ويعلمهم الكتاب والحكمة وإن كانوا من قبل لفي ضلال مبين

Indeed Allah conferred a great favour on the believers when He sent among them a Messenger (Muhammad) from among themselves, reciting unto them His Verses (the Qur’an), and purifying them (from sins by their following him), and instructing them (in) the Book (the Qur’an) and Al-Hikmah [the wisdom and the Sunnah of the Prophet  (i.e. his legal ways, statements, acts of worship, etc.)], while before that they had been in manifest error. [Surah Aal Imraan. Aayah 164]

Allāh said: [اليوم أكملت لكم دينكم وأتممت عليكم نعمتي ورضيت لكم الإسلام دينا – This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion]. [Surah Al-Maa’idah. Aayah 3]

Allāh [The Most High] said: [إن الدين عند الله الإسلام – Truly, the religion with Allah is Islam]. [Surah Aal Imraan. Aayah 19]

Allāh said: [ومن يبتغ غير الإسلام دينا فلن يقبل منه – And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him]. [Surah Aal Imraan. Aayah 85]

Allāh said: [ومن أحسن من الله حكما لقوم يوقنون – And who is better in judgement than Allah for a people who have firm Faith]. [Surah Al-Maa’idah. Aayah 50]

Allāh stated whilst describing the Prophet [sallal laahu alayhi wasallam] and the religion he brought:

الذين يتبعون الرسول النبي الأمي الذي يجدونه مكتوبا عندهم في التوراة والإنجيل يأمرهم بالمعروف وينهاهم عن المنكر ويحل لهم الطيبات ويحرم عليهم الخبائث ويضع عنهم إصرهم والأغلال التي كانت عليهم فالذين آمنوا به وعزروه ونصروه واتبعوا النور الذي أنزل معه أولئك هم المفلحون

Those who follow the Messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write (i.e. Muhammad) whom they find written with them in the Taurat (Torah) (Deut, xviii, 15) and the Injeel (Gospel) (John xiv, 16) , – he commands them for Al-Ma’ruf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam has ordained); and forbids them from Al- Munkar (i.e. disbelief, polytheism of all kinds, and all that Islam has forbidden); he allows them as lawful At-Taiyibat [(i.e. all good and lawful) as regards things, deeds, beliefs, persons, foods, etc.], and prohibits them as unlawful Al-Khabaa’ith (i.e. all evil and unlawful as regards things, deeds, beliefs, persons, foods, etc.), he releases them from their heavy burdens (of Allah’s Covenant), and from the fetters (bindings) that were upon them. So those who believe in him (Muhammad ), honour him, help him, and follow the light (the Qur’an) which has been sent down with him, it is they who will be successful . [Surah Al-A’raaf. Aayah 157]

So, Allāh informs us that there is no good thing that is recognised by sound uncorrupted intellect and divine revelation, except that He has commanded it. And there is neither any evil except that He has forbidden it, nor any beneficial lawful thing except that He has allowed it, nor any unlawful harmful thing except that He has forbidden it. Alongside this He has made things easy and facilitated, and has indeed removed – from the people – their heavy burdens [of His Covenant], the fetters [bindings] and the various types of hardships. And that whoever adheres to the path of the Messenger, believes in Him and follows the light [the Qur’aan] which has been sent down with him, then he is a successful one in his religion and worldly affairs. And success is to be successful in everything that is sought after and desired, and safety from every destructive thing and fear, for indeed the Qur’aan guides to that which is most just in manners, deeds and righteousness in all state of affairs.
Allāh [The Most High] said: [وقل جاء الحق وزهق الباطل إن الباطل كان زهوقا – And say: “Truth (i.e. Islamic Monotheism or this Qur’an or Jihad against polytheists) has come and Batil (falsehood, i.e. Satan or polytheism, etc.) has vanished. Surely! Batil is ever bound to vanish.”] [Surah Al-Israa. Aayah 81]

The truth is that which Messenger [sallal laahu alayhi wasallam] brought in the fundamentals of religion and its branches, and matters regarding the religion and the worldly affairs, and falsehood is that which opposes and [attempts to] nullify it. Therefore, everything that opposes the Islamic religion is falsehood and cannot establish the truth in the presence of Islaam; but rather it only becomes widespread when truth is absent in the midst of those who are ignorant of the religion of Islam; otherwise, when the Islamic religion is known as it is should be known, then indeed the people of adequate intellect and sound understanding would neither desire a replacement for it nor choose other than it, for indeed it calls to the felicity of the worldly life and the Hereafter, and thus gathers the two types of felicities. These are the ones who say: “Our Lord! Give us in this world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which is good, and save us from the torment of the Fire!”

Allāh said: [من عمل صالحا من ذكر أو أنثى وهو مؤمن فلنحيينه حياة طيبة ولنجزينهم أجرهم بأحسن ما كانوا يعملون- Whoever works righteousness, whether male or female, while he (or she) is a true believer (of Islamic Monotheism) verily, to him We will give a good life (in this world with respect, contentment and lawful provision), and We shall pay them certainly a reward in proportion to the best of what they used to do (i.e. Paradise in the Hereafter).[Surah An-Nahl. Aayah 97]

Allāh said:

وعد الله الذين آمنوا منكم وعملوا الصالحات ليستخلفنه م في الأرض كما استخلف الذين من قبلهم وليمكنن لهم دينهم الذي ارتضى لهم وليبدلنهم من بعد خوفهم أمنا يعبدونني لا يشركون بي شيئا

Allah has promised those among you who believe, and do righteous good deeds, that He will certainly grant them succession to (the present rulers) in the earth, as He granted it to those before them, and that He will grant them the authority to practise their religion, that which He has chosen for them (i.e. Islam). And He will surely give them in exchange a safe security after their fear (provided) they (believers) worship Me and do not associate anything (in worship) with Me. [Surah An-Noor. Aayah 55]

When they established sound faith and righteous deeds, which includes all the prescribed duties of the religion, then that which they were promised of rulership in the land, authority, honour and perfection in their affairs was fulfilled for them; but when they fell short they were punished through being overcome by the enemies. So, this honour that is achieved when they establish their religion and the humiliation that afflicts them when they neglect it is the greatest proof that the religion is the truth and the essence of felicity and success in this worldly life and the Hereafter. And that indeed misery and being forsaken is as a result of negligence in establishing the religion. As for what the enemies receive of might, it is temporary and a means of gradual destruction, just as Allāh stated about them: [لا يغرنك تقلب الذين كفروا في البلاد متاع قليل ثم مأواهم جهنم وبئس المهاد – Let not the free disposal (and affluence) of the disbelievers throughout the land deceive you. A brief enjoyment; then, their ultimate abode is Hell; and worst indeed is that place for rest]. [Surah Aal Imraan. 196-197]

Allāh said:

فلما نسوا ما ذكروا به فتحنا عليهم أبواب كل شيء حتى إذا فرحوا بما أوتوا أخذناهم بغتة فإذا هم مبلسون فقطع دابر القوم الذين ظلموا والحمد لله رب العالمين

So, when they forgot (the warning) with which they had been reminded, We opened to them the gates of every (pleasant) thing, until in the midst of their enjoyment in that which they were given, all of a sudden, We took them to punishment, and lo! They were plunged into destruction with deep regrets and sorrows. So the roots of the people who did wrong were cut off. And all the praises and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of the ‘Alamin (mankind, jinns, and all that exists). [Surah Al-An’aam. Aayaat 44-45] [An Excerpt from Ad-Dalaa’il Al-Qur’aaniyyah Fee Annal Uloom Wal-A’maal An-Naafi’ah Al-Asriyyah Daakhilatun Fid Deen Al-Islaamiy. pages 14-16. Slightly paraphrased]

How to Approach The Contemporary Worldly Sciences

Shaikh Saaleh Aala Ash-Shaikh [may allaah preserve him] said: The Messenger [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him] said: Verily, the creation of each of you is brought together in his mother’s womb for forty days as a drop [of water, semen], then he is a clot for a similar period, then a morsel for a similar period…. [An-Nawawi’s Forty Hadeeth. Hadeeth 4]

It is well known that during that era, the Sahaabah did not know these stages (of development of the human being in the womb) through experimental knowledge, vision [i.e. by way X-rays or ultrasound that enables the human to see something in the womb) or other than that; rather it was simply (a statement of the Prophet) which they (believed and affirmed). They were scholars by way of the revelation sent down to the Prophet and not by way of experimentation (examination). [Sharh Al-Arba’een. Hadeeth 4]

Imaam Muhammad Bin Saaleh Al-Uthaymeen [may Allaah have mercy upon him] said: We do not say, “We do not give consideration to anything stated by the people in the subject matter regarding medicine, astronomy and the celestial bodies”, however, we do not accept everything they say. If what they say opposes the Book and the (authentic) Sunnah, then indeed we do not accept their statements. We take [i.e. believe and affirm without any doubt] that which is conveyed in the Book and the Sunnah], and we say, “An era will come in which the people will bear witness to the falsity of those statements of theirs – at present – that are in opposition to the Book and Sunnah and (bear witness) to the soundness of that which has been conveyed in the Book and the Sunnah. [An excerpt from the ‘Explanation of Bulooghul Maraam’ Vol 1. page 130. Shared by Ustaadh abu Tasneem (Mushaf Al-Banghaalee- may Allaah preserve him)]

Imaam Abdul Azeez Bin Baaz [may Allaah have mercy upon him] said: Indeed, that which is stated by the astronomers about the celestial bodies, their sizes and the distance between them, and that which is said about the earth [i.e. by the geologists etc] is categorized into three affairs: [a] That which is backed by the sound knowledge-based proofs [i.e. the Sharee’ah], therefore it is accepted. [b] That which the knowledge-based proofs [i.e. the sharee’ah] declares to be false, therefore it is rejected. [c] That which there is no proof to either accept or reject it, therefore it is unproven until a person from the people of knowledge [i.e. upright scholars of Ahlus Sunnah] examines it [i.e. examines what it indicates based on the Book and Sunnah] to show whether it should be accepted or rejected. As for accepting it without [sound] investigation and observation, but merely accepting it by blindly following them [i.e. the astronomers, geologists etc], then this is impermissible because of the numerous mistakes that occur as a result of that, and speaking -without knowledge – about Allaah and that which He has created [i.e. the entire universe and all that is within it]. [An Excerpts from ‘Al-Adillah An-Naqliyyah Wal-Hissiyyah Alaa Imkaanis Su’ood Ilal Kawaakib Wa Alaa Jarayaan Ash-Shams Wal-Qamar Wa Sukoon Al-Ard’ page 74. slightly paraphrased]

Therefore, we return to those honest investigators – those students of sound Aqeedah who are well acquainted with both the statements of the upright scholars and the contemporary worldly sciences, such as the likes of Dr. Shaikh Abu Iyaadh Amjad Rafiq [may Allaah preserve him, increase him in beneficial knowledge and righteous deeds. And likewise preserve all the students and Ahlus Sunnah Aameen]. Read: Understanding the Two

Definitions of ‘Science’ in Operation – By Shaikh Dr. Abu Iyaadh:

http://www.aboutatheism.net/articles/juvtbpd-understanding-the-two-definitions-of-science-and-scientific-enquiry.cfm