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George Bernard Shaw believed that Islam will be acceptable to Europe in the near future. In ‘Genuine Islam’ he said:
"I believe that if a man like (Muhammad) were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it the much needed peace and happiness. I have prophesied about the faith of Muhammad that it would be acceptable to the Europe of tomorrow as it is beginning to be acceptable to the Europe of today.”[1]
The teachings of Islam with its clear principles and flexibiliy concept, possess the power to appeal to every age. In this context, George Bernard Shaw again commented:
“I have always held the religion of Muhammad in high estimation because of its wonderful vitality. It is the only religion which appears to me to possess that assimilating capacity to the changing phase of existence which can make itself appeal to every age. I have studied him (Muhammad – ed.) - the wonderful man and in my opinion far from being an anti-Christ, he must be called the Savior of Humanity."[2]
The Islamic law is a practical law based on a comprehensive justice without neglecting the needs of the minority. Its principles are not man-made. The celebrated British orator and parliamentarian, Edmund Burke, in his ‘Impeachment of Hastings’ said:
“The Muhammadan law which is binding on all, from the crowned head to the meanest subject, is a law interwoven with a system of the wisest, the most learned and the most enlightened jurispundence that ever existed in the world.”[3]
This makes Islam suitable for implementation and practice all over the world. Lancelot Lawton, in his work, ‘The Sphere,’ observed:
“As a religion, the Mahomedan religion, it must be confessed, is more suited to Africa than is the Christian religion; indeed, I would even say that it is more suited to the world as a whole..”[4]
In ‘The Empires of the Mind’ published in 1995, Denis Waitley, a famous author from America, stated that: “Knowledge is power… It controls access to opportunity and advancement. Scientists and scholars are no longer on tap, they are on top.” For Islam this is nothing new. The first verse revealed to Prophet Muhammad was: ‘Read in the name of thy Lord!’ The renowned British orientalist, Marmaduke Picktall, who later converted to Islam, in his ‘Islamic Culture’ said:
“The Quran undoubtedly gave a great impetus to learning especially in the field of natural sciences… The Muslims set out on their search for learning in the name of God at a time when Christians were destroying all the learning of the ancients in the name of Christ. They had destroyed the Library of Alexandria, they had murdered many philosophers, including the beautiful Hypatia. Learning was for them a devil’s snare beloved of the pagans. They had no injunction to ‘seek knowledge even though it was in China.’ The manuscripts of Greek and Roman learning were publicly burnt by the priests… It was from the teaching of the Spanish Muslim Universities that Columbus got his notion that the world was round, though he too was forced under persecution to recant it all afterwards. When we remember that the Spanish Muslim Universities in the time of Khalifa Abdul Rahman III and the Eastern Muslim Universities in the time of Al-Mamun – I mention those two monarchs because it is specially recorded of their times – welcomed Christian and Jewish students on equality with the Muslims; and not only that, but entertained them at the Government expenses, and that hundreds of Christian students from the South of Europe and the countries of the East took advantage of the chance to escape from the ecclessiastical (Church – ed) leading strings; we can easily perceive what debt of gratitude modern European progress owes to Islam, while it owes nothing whatsoever to the Christian Church which persecuted, tortured and even burnt the learned.”[5]
Today is an era of science and technology. Islam is not only compatible with science indeed, it is much more advance than modern science. Many verses in the Quran concerning science are only understood by scientists today. More than that, in Islam, science is not the end but a means of understanding God’s greatness for the well being of mankind.
Dr. Maurice Bucaille, an eminent French surgeon, scientist, scholar and author of ‘The Bible, The Quran And Science’ which contains the result of his research into the Judeo-Christian Revelation and the Quran, wrote:
“In 'La Bible le Coran et la Science' (The Bible, the Quran and Science), which first appeared in the original French in 1976 and which subsequently appeared in English in 1978, I set forth the main points of these findings. On November 9, 1976, I gave a lecture to the Academia de Medecine (French Academy of Medicine) in which I explored the statements of the origins of man contained in the Quran; the title of the lecture was 'Donnees physiologiques et embryologiques de Coran (Physiological and Embryological Data in the Quran).’ I emphasised the fact that these data - which I shall summarise below - formed part of a much wider study. The following are some of the points which arise from a reading of the Quran:
All of these data are bound to amaze anyone who approaches them in an objective spirit…. Side by side with the main religious aspect of such reflections on man, we find in the Quran statements on man that refer to strictly material facts. They are quite amazing when one approaches them for the first time. For example, the Quran describes the origins of life in general and devotes a great deal of space to the morphological transformation undergone by man, repeatedly emphasizing the fact that God fashioned him as He willed. We likewise discover statements on human reproduction that are expressed in precise terms that lend themselves to comparison with the secular knowledge we today possess on the subject.”[6]
Professor Joe Leigh Simpson is a Professor and Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA. He is also the President of the American Fertility Society and has received many awards, including the Association of Professors of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Public Recognition Award in 1992. Like many others, Professor Simpson was taken by surprise when he discovered that the Qurân and Hadîth contain verses related to his specialised field of study. He commented:
"... these Hadîths (sayings of Prophet Muhammad) could not have been obtained on the basis of the scientific knowledge that was available at the time of the 'writer'... It follows that not only is there no conflict between genetics and religion (Islâm) but in fact religion (Islâm) may guide science by adding revelation to some of the traditional scientific approaches... There exist statements in the Qurân shown centuries later to be valid which support the knowledge that the Qurân is derived from God."[7]
Islam is a complete way of life that encompasses material and spiritual world; caters for the personal, family and social needs, and emphasizes on the importance of building a system based on justice and knowledge. Professor H.A.R. Gibb, a famous British orientalist, in his book ‘Whither Islam,’ said:
“The ethics of Islam, its social and personal morality concept are infinitely higher, infinitely more perfect than the corresponding concept within the Western civilisation. Islam has banned human hatred and opened the way for human brotherhood and equality, but the Western civilisation is still unable to look beyond narrow horizon of racial and national antagonism…. Islam is indeed much more than a system of theology, it is a complete civilisation.”[8]
These lofty principles and concepts, make Islam a religion suitable for today and tomorrow. The early signs are all there: the Plain Truth, February 1984, in its 50 Year Anniversary issue, quoting from The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1935 and Reader Digest Almanac and Year Book 1985, stated that the world population has increased 136% from 1934 to 1984, with the Christian population increasing by a mere 47% and Muslim by 235%.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Edmund Burke, ‘The Impeachment of Warren Hastings,’ in Kh. Jamil Ahmed, 'Muhammad in Non-Muslims' Eyes,' p. 51
[4] Refer Lancelot Lawton (1928), ‘The Sphere,’ London in Kh. Jamil Ahmed, Ibid, p. 56
[5] Marmaduke Picktall, ‘Islamic Culture,’ p. 67-68
[6] Dr. Maurice Bucaille, ‘The Origin of Man,’ at http://www.themodernreligion.com/science/science-bucaille.html
[7] ‘This is the Truth’ at http://salam.muslimsonline.com/~islamawe/Quran/Science/scientists.html
[8] H.A.R. Gibb (1932), ‘Whither Islam,’ London in Kh. Jamil Ahmed, op.cit; p. 97-98
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