prove to be a brief episode in cosmic evolution. The earth may go
on rolling round the sun for ages after man has disappeared from its
surface. Opposing both these views, the Qur'an presents nature as
friendly to man, responsive to his intellect and sympathetic to his
moral endeavour. Both nature and man have been created by a wise
and benevolent God and fundamentally there is no conflict between
them. Man can develop only with the help of nature. This help he
can obtain provided he acquires knowledge of nature and utilises it
for the achievement of his moral ends in the light of Divine
Guidance. The knowledge referred to is scientific knowledge. The
only method by which he can study nature profitably is the scientific
method. Equipped with scientific knowledge he can bend nature to
his service. Natural forces can be made to serve man. This truth the
Qur'an has expressed in the metaphorical language that the
"Malaaikah (cosmic forces) prostrated themselves before Adam
(man)" (2:34). Man, as the verses quoted below show, occupies a
privileged position in the physical world and it is his destiny to
become master of it:
God has pressed into the service of man the sun and the moon, to
perform their courses, and He has pressed the night and the day into
his service (14:33).
Again:
And He hath of service unto you whatsoever is in the heavens and
whatsoever is in the earth; it is all from Him. Lo! herein verily are
portents for people who reflect (45:13).
If we reflect on the physical world we find that it is governed by
unalterable laws, and by discovering these laws we can subjugate
everything in it and make it serve our purposes. The destiny of man
lies not in turning away from nature but in making it obey his will.
The physical world, the Qur'an asserts, is not a shadow or maya
(illusion). It is real and not merely an appearance. "And We created
not the heaven and the earth and all that is between them in vain"
(38:27). They are in error who refuse to ascribe reality to the seen
world. "That is the opinion of those who do not believe (in the
truth)” (38:27). It is these people who consider the world to be an
illusion. If it is an illusion, it means that it has no meaning. Islam
rejects this view as utterly false and kufr. The Qur'an says that the
universe was created bil -Haqq, which means that it is true and has a
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