Spirit of Islam November 2017

15 Spirit of Islam Issue 59 November 2017 INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT IN RELIGION Right Criterion O NE principle of scientific study has been described in the Arabic words tu’rafal ashya’ bi azdadiha, that is, ‘things are known by their opposites’. It is through comparison that we understand things the way they truly are. If applied to the study of a terrorist mind, it will raise the question, why are such destructive characters like terrorists born to religion and not to science? When we ponder over this question, we will arrive at a very important reality. There are two basic branches of knowledge. One, the science of matter, and the other, the science of mind. All branches of knowledge stem from these two basic branches. The material, visible world is studied under the rubric of the science of matter, while the unseen world is studied under the rubric of the science of the mind. The science of matter is based on observation and experimentation. Any knowledge acquired through direct or indirect observation and experimentation becomes a part of the science of matter. It is diametrically opposite to the science of the mind where everything is based on speculation. That is why the branches of knowledge related to the science of matter are called exact sciences, whereas the branches of knowledge related to the science of the mind fall into the category of speculative sciences. There is a known and established way of settling differences in the sciences of matter. That is why such differences do not escalate into violence. However when differences develop in the field of the sciences of the mind, it is not possible to reach a consensus. This is the reason differences escalate leading to clashes and confrontation. For instance, a common man sees the sun and the moon in the sky. It appears to the naked eye that the sun and the moon are both equal in size. The observer then forms the opinion that the sun and the moon are equal in size and that there is no difference between the two. However, modern astronomical instruments soon convince him that the sun is far bigger than the moon. In this way, any doubts or differences of opinion that anyone might have had about the size of the sun and the moon immediately come to an end. This is how differences are resolved in all the branches of the science of matter, paving the way for its disciplines to make commendable progress.