IMAM ALI (A.S.) AND SCIENCE

Apes, Lemurs, Monkeys and Human beings are member of highest order of mammals. They are called “Primates”. All Primates use thinking to fulfill their materialistic needs. But human beings are the only Primates to have the faculty of Mathematical and Philosophical thinking. The difference between human beings and other Primates is because of the difference in weight and the anatomy of their brains. Human beings have the heaviest brains as large number of neurons is packed in a very small volume. A neuron is a nerve cell that is the building block of the nervous system. Neurons are the specialized cells to transmit information throughout the body. Hence the human beings think about their creation, material things around them and also about the earth and skies etc.

The first western philosopher who gave importance to this type of thinking was an Englishman, Rene Descartes. He was a Mathematician also. He invented co-ordinate geometry. His cogito ergo sum: I think, therefore I exist came as a fresh breath to the materialistic western philosophy. Through Cogito, Descartes established the superiority of “Mind” over “Matter”. When mind which is the seat of thinking is the proof of the material (his body), then it means the “invisible” is superior to “visible”. It was finally established that the knowledge gained through thinking is superior to the knowledge gained through the senses. The senses give us the knowledge of the visible world whereas thinking gives us the hidden knowledge of the laws governing the world.

Descartes philosophy is a preference of mind over matter; soul over body and God over the universe. Just as mind exists in us, God exists in universe.

Descartes’ philosophy of Cogito can be visualized in the following sayings of Imam Ali (a.s.):

1. Perceptions by the eyes are not real observation because eyes sometimes deceive people: but wisdom does not deceive whomsoever-it-counsels. Here Imam Ali (a.s.) says that senses specially eyes deceive. Wisdom is nothing but a kind of thinking.
2. Thinking is a clear mirror. Thinking is a flawless tool for gaining genuine knowledge just as a clear mirror gives a clear image to the observer.
3. There is no knowledge like thinking.
4. There is no honor like knowledge. All the great theories of Physics are the result of thinking by the great minds of the times. The greatest honor for the man is thinking. If you don’t ponder, you are not a human being. Descartes said it about four hundred years back but Imam Ali (a.s.) said it about one thousand years before Descartes. Imam Ali (a.s.) was a warrior, a man of letters, a caliph, an administrator, who did not have time to think and ponder like Descartes.

IMAM ALI (A.S.) AND GEOLOGY

In Nahjul Balagha, sermon 209, Imam Ali (a.s.) said: “It is through the strength of God’s greatness and His subtle power of innovation that He made solid dry earth out of the water of the fathomless, compact and dashing ocean. Then He made from the oceans, skies and separated them into seven skies (seven layers of atmosphere) after they have been joined together.” Nahjul Balagha was compiled by Syed Razi, a student of Shaikh Mufeed (r.a.) in 1000 AD (422 AH).

It is only about 40 years back that modern science established the “seven layers theory” of the atmosphere which are named as follows:

1.      Troposphere

2.      Stratosphere

3.      Ozonosphere

4.      Mesosphere

5.      Thermosphere

6.      Ionosphere

7.      Exosphere

The Noble Qur’an says: “It is He (God) who created everything for you and then directed His attention to the sky (samawaat) and arranged it into seven layers. He has knowledge of all things.” (2:220)

Imam Ali (a.s.) also talked about the seven skies and attributes their (atmosphere’s) origin to the oceans of the earth. The Modern Geologists also holds the same theory as enunciated by The Gateway of Knowledge, Imam Ali (a.s.). The atmosphere contains oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide. Oxygen and hydrogen is supposed to be formed by the break down of water by ultra violet rays of the sun. Nitrogen and carbon dioxide can be attributed to the nitrates and carbonates of the oceans.

In sermon # 210, Imam Ali (a.s.) said: “He (God) also created high hills, rocks of stone and lofty mountains. He put those (mountains) in their positions and made them remain stationary. Their peaks rose into air while their roots remain in the water.”

In the above sermon, Imam Ali (a.s.) introduced the concept of Mountain Roots which has been discovered in the Nineteen Century while studying the concept of Isostasy (state of equilibrium between earth’s crust and atmosphere). The concept of mountain roots was discovered in India by a British scientist, John Hayford, in 1917 while studying Isostasy of Himalayan Mountains. Mountain Roots may be inferred in the following Ayah of Holy Qur’an: “Have We not made the earth as bed and the mountains its pegs” (78:6-7)

It is indeed miraculous for a man of Seventh Century A.D. to be aware of a concept which is considered as a discovery of Nineteenth Century A.D.: FAITH IS ALWAYS AHEAD OF SCIENCE.

References:

Holy Qur’an

Nahjul Balagha

History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell

Islam Science and Imam Ali