Evolving our understanding of Islam

There is a growing divide among second-generation American Muslims between those that are following convention and those that are leaving the religion. An alternative, organized, middle ground approach has yet to fill that vacuum. But I see the makings of it in this group, in this gathering. And I have been pursuing it by seeking an alternative perspective through science. Reading about the journeys of people who sought to integrate science with faith has helped me to find that middle ground.

One of the most influential scientists who struggled to reconcile his research with his faith was the natural historian Charles Darwin. Darwin figured out that all life evolves through descent with modified traits. Darwin’s studies revealed to him that life is not static, nor perfectly designed. Rather, it evolves over time. It is a constant work in progress.

Similarly, we are realizing that our understanding of Islam is not meant to be static, but to evolve over time. The most viable understanding of Islam will always be that which is best suited to its context. Our current context is naturally selecting an understanding of Islam that is more adaptable, inclusive, accommodating, and flexible. That is the inevitable direction of American society. Interpretations that are uninviting and harsh doom themselves for extinction.

Back in Darwin’s day, there was no such thing as natural history, which today is the study of the history of life on Earth. In the 1800s, there was natural philosophy (math and physics) and natural theology (understanding the Creator by studying creation).

One such theologian, William Paley, used the analogy that a watch implies the existence of a watchmaker, just as the complexity of nature implies the existence of a Creator. In other words, nature is so complex that it could only have been designed by an intelligent deity.

Darwin borrowed the rhetoric of Paley’s “Grand Analogy” and turned it on its head: Artificial selection led to domesticated organisms, just as natural selection led to natural organisms.

In his seminal book, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, Darwin introduced ideas that where heretical at the time. The most egregious idea to Victorian Society was that organisms are not created in perfect form, but rather, that they are descended from common ancestors.

Many people assume that, in light of his views, Darwin must have been an ardent atheist. This was not so: based on his collective writings, Darwin appeared to have retained spirituality throughout his life. But Darwin struggled with the seeming contradiction of his religious views with his scientific views. He was afraid of alienating himself from his wife, Emma, who was a devout Christian. Darwin also feared that his radical views would be spurned by society. He even sent apologies to his friends and colleagues in advance of them reading his manuscript.  His writing made statements that directly challenged the Bible – for example, by saying that “things are not created in a perfect form.” Darwin was not afraid of offending the Church, per say, but he was grappling with what all of this had to do with God.

In Darwin’s view, Nature is not benevolent and ordered with everything in its place. Rather, it is a constant struggle for survival – everything vying for its place, with no room for morality. But there is a balance that arises out of that struggle.

People often have trouble reconciling this reality with their beliefs. It seems incongruous with the perception that humans are above animals. The empirical truth is that we are animals. We are biological life forms with biological functions and needs. But we also have capacities that exceed those of any other life form that has evolved thus far. Those capacities are powerful, and they are balanced by their equal potential for creation and destruction.

I’d like to discuss another parallel that may shed some light on our current challenges. In the split between American Muslims who wish to preserve a conservative practice, and those that seek a more progressive and inclusive view, I see a parallel with the transition that Americans underwent over the course of the Civil War.

In the time before the Civil War, the predominant paradigm of thought in the Western world was metaphysical. It was entirely rooted in theology, idealism, and philosophy. The Civil War shook that foundation in America. Even among upper class society, the war compromised peoples’ acceptance of a world under God’s exclusive direction.

In his book The Metaphysical Club, Louis Menand chronicles the erosion of metaphysics and its replacement with pragmatism, or the use of workable ideas to tackle workable problems, as the operative paradigm in America.

The thinkers that advanced this notion, Menand says, “believed that ideas are produced not by individuals, but by groups of individuals – that ideas are social. They believed that ideas do not develop according to some inner logic of their own, but are entirely dependent, like germs, on their human carriers and the environment. And they believed that since ideas are provisional responses to particular and irreproducible circumstances, their survival depends not on their immutability, but on their adaptability” (p. xi-xii).

Just as America did in the wake of the Civil War, American Muslim communities are currently experiencing a novel reality. Politics in the Middle East, and the United States’ involvement in the chaos, made American Muslims feel alienated in their society. The Internet created a tremendous gap between second-generation Millennials, who grew up in the US in the 21^st century, and their parents, who grew up in another country, in another era, and who desperately seek to preserve something from that bygone life.

Even with so many old ideals shattered after the Civil War, new scientific discoveries were further challenging established notions in the late 19^th century. When Darwin published his book On the Origin of Species, many people did not know how to react to his views in light of their long held theological perspective on their place in the world. Similarly, many American Muslims today are unsure of how to reconcile their beliefs with new advances in science.

Darwin’s theories became the foundation for the study of biology. But even Darwin’s views had to be reinterpreted over the years in light of new data. Darwin and others at the time understood that traits are heritable – that offspring resemble both parents – but no one knew anything about DNA back in the 19^th century. Darwin’s explanation for the introduction of variation in traits was that the environment nebulously affects the reproductive system in a way that creates new variations of traits. This notion had no basis once we began to understand DNA and genetics.

There is an incredible tension between knowing that we cannot know everything and knowing that there must be certainty out there. But we can accept both.

One of the pragmatic ideas that arose in America after the Civil War was that even if we don’t understand something yet, we can be sure that there must be a law to explain it.

I think we can be just as pragmatic in our understanding of Islam. We can remind ourselves that we will never know everything, but be assured that Islam will always help us find answers. We submit to that reality, and put our faith in Allah. If we use our powers of observation and our capacity for pragmatism, we can ensure that a viable American variation of Islam will survive in generations of descendants to come.

The Quran frequently refers to natural phenomena, such as in this passage from Surat Ash-Shams (91, Ayat 1-6):

“I swear by the sun and its broad light/ and by the moon when it follows/ and by the day when it shows its brightness/ and by the night when it envelops/ and by the sky, and the One who built it/ and by the earth, and the one who spread it.”

I think that this passage would have resonated with Darwin himself. The language in his book, On the Origin of Species, reflects the same kind of reverence for nature, and even an acknowledgement of a divine connection to it:

"There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved."

Islam Must be a Shared Journey or (How to Connect American Youth with Islam)

Being a Muslim is a journey that must be active and ongoing. For second-generation Muslim American youth, I think it is especially important to have mentors that are also searching to enhance their understanding of Islam. It is also important for youth to integrate their different interests with their faith so that Islam becomes seamless with all aspects of their lives.

Actively exploring Islam with my parents as a young adult made it possible for me to connect with the religion. As a college student, I had begun learning about the world in a sophisticated way. I was experiencing new things all the time. I was being trained to question and analyze everything. So it only made sense that, in order to connect with Islam, the process would have to be similarly analytical and exploratory. A didactic approach would never be enough. Thus, my parents became my colleagues as well as my mentors as we explored Islam together. 

When I was a kid, my parents always did their best to explain things to me in a way that would make sense to me at the time. As I got older, that challenge became increasingly difficult.

I have always had strong faith and belief in God, but in my first years of college, I felt disconnected from Islam as a religion. I could not relate to the other Muslim students on campus at all. Their practice of Islam seemed very far removed from my own sensibilities. I could not get involved with the Muslim community there. I admit that for a long time I didn’t pray regularly. I had not yet figured out how to connect my faith with my social life, my academic pursuits, or even my identity.

My parents felt an urgent need to help me internalize Islam as a young adult. They recognized that the process could not wait. That was one of their motivations to intensify their study of Islam. They began to put extensive effort into researching and interpreting Islam in a way that makes sense to them, and in a way that can make sense to a second-generation Muslim in her twenties.

The most important factor in this endeavor was that my parents included me in the process. They always shared what they were learning and discussed it with me. They challenged me to consider every example from both my own perspective and the perspective of others.

Finding a community that we could relate to helped all of us to broaden our connection with Islam. When I was growing up, I sensed my parents’ dissatisfaction with the conventional Muslim communities we knew then, and that in turn made me feel alienated from those communities. But when my parents discovered the Webb community, and started meeting all of you, and introduced me to the group, I was able to connect with other Muslims for the first time. Like my parents and I, this community is searching for a better way to engage with Islam. Finding a Muslim community I was comfortable with helped me learn how to relate to Muslims in other communities, no matter where they’re coming from. Now, I am actively involved with the Muslim student community where I currently live in Berkeley.

The initiative to start your own prayer group was also a formative opportunity for me. It offered the first Friday prayer experience that I could relate to and find fulfilling. I feel completely at home in this gathering.  Hearing everyone’s personal experiences and perspectives on Islam has helped me to realize that I am not alone in my struggles, and that understanding Islam needs to be a continuous process no matter what stage of your life you are in. I never used to attend Friday prayer service in college except on Eid. Now here I am giving a khutbah.

Observing my parents’ evolving practice of Islam has also had a critical influence on me. In their own journeys, they have shown me the real purpose of ritual in Islam. For example, when my father returned from Hajj a couple years ago, I could tell how transformative it was for him. It gave him a new lease on life, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. I have seen a similar transformation in my mother since she committed to praying five times every single day. She comes away from each prayer very calm, focused, and reassured. Following my parents’ journey taught me that maintaining a connection through ritual allows Islam to permeate your life and give you balance.

My parents never pressured me to pray with them, but always invited me to do so. Eventually, I felt compelled to get back into it regularly. They always encouraged me to lead the prayer. This summer I decided to start attempting tajweed. With some coaching from my father on the guidelines, I started developing my own style of recitation. It has made prayer a more deeply spiritual experience for me. I now feel that, through recitation, I can relate to that level of transcendence I have observed in my parents’ practice of Islam.

I’m going to recite part of Surah Al-A’la…

I went from not praying at all to praying every day because I was sharing the experience with my family, and because I was able to personalize the ritual. Now it feels as natural as anything else I do.

Although I felt distanced from the religion early in my young adult life, the most critical factor that made it possible for me to connect with Islam was sharing the journey with my parents and with our community. If I had been handed a codified set of rules, with no room for interpretation or growth, I never would have been able to connect with the religion. But because it has been such a dynamic process, and a shared experience, my practice of Islam has become completely congruent with my faith and with every other aspect of my life.

[Pause]

One way that my parents encouraged me to engage with Islam was to connect it with other things I was learning. This allowed me to take agency of my understanding of Islam. It also helped me to bridge my faith with my academic endeavors, which were also very important to me. I’d like to share an example of how my non-Islamic studies actually helped me to understand Islam.

One of the most difficult questions I struggled with growing up was the question, “why does God make bad things happen?” I used to ask my father this question periodically. It was one of the few for which he did not have a clear answer. He said, “I don’t know, Sara. There are some things only God knows the answer for.”

This question continued to occupy me over the years, and it still does. But I found a way to reconcile the problem through an unconventional source: earth science.

My studies of earth science have trained me to approach every matter through the lens of “deep time,” as we refer to geologic history on the order of millions of years.  I have thus adopted the habit of considering everything from scientific problems to personal matters on both short- and long-term scales. And I find that alternating between the two allows me to see how things are connected.

Consider, for example, earthquakes. Earthquakes can devastate towns and kill a lot of people. Why would God make such a thing happen? 

Consider the deep-time perspective: earthquakes happen when tension is released between two tectonic plates (large pieces in the Earth’s crust) that slide past each other. Tectonic plates typically move very slowly, in pace with the growth of your fingernails. Over time, stress builds up between the two plates, and eventually that stress is released all at once as an earthquake.

I have learned that movement of these tectonic plates is actually vital to our existence. Tectonic plates made the Earth habitable by life billions of years ago. Volcanoes that formed of the margins of tectonic plates spewed out gases that created an atmosphere. The atmosphere allowed water to condense and collect on Earth’s surface as a liquid. It also trapped enough of the Sun’s heat to keep the planet from freezing over.  The movement of tectonic plates also shapes the planet; it forms continents with mountains and plains; it affects climate and environment, which affects the evolution and distribution of organisms. Without these processes, we would not be here, nor would we have any of the natural resources on which our survival depends. 

Earthquakes are a necessary consequence of tectonic activity, a byproduct of the laws of physics. Earthquakes are not punishments from God; they are a necessary part of the system God created that allows us to exist. It is therefore up to us to use our capacity for observation and analysis (as the Quran tells us to do repeatedly) to figure out where earthquakes are likely to occur and how to mitigate their effects on people’s lives.

So in answer to the question, “Why does God make bad things happen?,” I would suggest that God does not make bad things happen, but rather, that bad things sometimes happen as a necessary consequence of the system God created that allows us to exist. That still doesn’t explain why a given earthquake must strike at a particular time, or affect particular people. But I also believe, as all Muslims do, that every injustice, whether circumstantial or deliberate, will be accounted for on the Day of Judgment. Taking the “big picture” perspective does help me to reconcile these and other disastrous events and understand why they must happen.

So in summary, what helped me connect with Islam was exploring it with mentors who encouraged me to search for my own answers, and who were actively searching for answers themselves. Islam has to be an ongoing journey. Here’s to a fruitful journey for all of us in the New Year, insha’Allah!

I will end by reciting the second half of Surah Al-A’la…

The Metaphor of Water

I’d like to start with a quote from the Mohammed Webb Foundation’s Mission Statement:

“As a great West African Muslim sage once taught, Islam is like a crystal clear river. Its waters (Islam) are pure, sweet, and life-giving but—having no color of their own—they reflect the bedrock (indigenous culture) over which they flow.”

Like a river, Islam takes on the color and flavor of the land through which it runs. A River Islam in one part of the world may look very different from other River Islams in other parts of the world… but they are still made of water all the same.

I recently visited the new gallery of Islamic Art at the Art Institute of Chicago. It features a modest but comprehensive sampling of art pieces from the major Islamic empires that have existed in the last 1400 years. Each empire had its own unique styles, patterns, color schemes, and techniques. The Safavids, in present-day Iran, were known for their use of brilliant turquoise; the Ottomans, based on Istanbul, frequently used tulips in their patterns; the Mughals of India, small red flowers. At the time, having a signature artistic style was akin to having a trademark. Exporting that art to different regions was a way to advertise the empire’s wealth and sophistication. The art forms of these empires are very distinct from each other, and yet, presented together in one exhibit, they complement each other beautifully. They represent tributaries, if you will, each with its own characteristics, flowing into the same river.

It struck me, as I wandered through this gallery, that these art pieces represent the diversity and unity of the Islamic world. The artistic expression of Islam was unique in each region, yet each piece had clear Islamic influence – in the form of calligraphy, for instance, or the use of geometric and floral patterns. Each civilization developed an artistic style that reflected the values and beauty of Islam.

This may hardly seem like an epiphany, but it occurred to me then that my understanding of Islam, and the culture surrounding it, has really only been shaped by a particular filter. In my mind, I associate Islam with the culture of the Middle East – particularly with Egypt and Turkey, the only countries I’ve experienced in that region – blended with influence from Pakistani culture, thanks to many of my friends. I’ve met Muslims from different parts of the world, and I continue to meet more, but I never realized that I probably make assumptions about their practice of Islam based on my own exposure. If art forms can be so varied between different Islamic regions, other aspects of culture and practice surely differ as well. But we all still follow the same Islam, the same basic beliefs.

This prompts the question: What characterizes the American Tributary of the River Islam? I would say that Islam in America is a new branch in the making. Our tributary is still a nascent, turbulent stream that may well branch in multiple directions. But in time, this too will become a distinctive branch of the river.

Pause

There is an ayah in Quran that offers the following metaphor: It describes how rivers carry dirt and debris to the surface and deposit them on the shore, so that the water returning to the river is purified.

“We sent water from the sky; then it created valleys; and while the water was flowing, it collected debris; a lot of debris; In this way God sets forth the parable of truth and falsehood: [the detritus] passes away as [does all] dross; but that which is of benefit to people stays on earth” (from Surah 13 Ar-Ra’d, ayah 17).

This beautiful metaphor describes the natural progression of Islam: the message came down; it made impressions on Earth that spread to many areas – many “valleys”; and it naturally “collected debris” along the way. In other words, there was no way that the message could remain absolutely pure on Earth while perpetuated by humans. But presence of debris is not necessarily a bad sign – it’s a natural process, and it is evidence that the river continues to flow.

When I hear distressing news about conflict and chaos in the Islamic world, I find comfort in this metaphor. The violence and destruction that is so antithetical to our faith and practice of Islam is nothing but debris in the river, churning to the surface after a violent storm. Over time, it will wash out and degrade to nothing. But the pure waters of Islam will endure. They are timeless.

 (From Surah 8 Al-‘Anfal, ayah 11) “[Remember] when He caused inner calm to enfold you, as an assurance from Him, and sent down upon you water from the skies, so that He might purify you and… strengthen your hearts, and thus make firm your steps.”

 

So whenever you encounter negativity among Muslims, just remember: Islam is the river, not the debris. Debris and pollution come and go – but they never last. Water is eternal. It cycles and takes on different forms, but it is always present. And it is essential for all life forms. It is a primary component of every living creature – Allah says in Surah 21 Al-‘Ambiyaa, ayah 30, “We made out of water every living thing.” It permeates the food we eat, the air we breathe, and the earth we tread.

“It is He who sends down water from the skies; you drink it, and thereof [drink] the plants upon which you pasture your beasts; and by virtue thereof He causes crops to grow for you, and olive trees, and date-palms, and grapes, and all [other] kinds of fruit: in this, behold, there is a message indeed for people who think!” (Surah 16 An-Nahl, ayat 10-11).  

I see our initiative as an effort to purify our tributary of Islam. Let us filter out the debris and embrace Islam in its essence.

Our branch of Islam will take on a new appearance – a new Progressive, Rational, Interpretive, 21^st Century, (call it what you like), American branch of the River Islam. Let us strive to preserve it as the most beautiful and live-giving river possible.  

Science and the Pursuit of Knowledge in Islam

Summer is the perfect time to enjoy nature and contemplate its wonder. And, while it is summer vacation and Ramadan, I’m sure we are all looking for ways to keep our brains fresh. Thus I thought I would share a khutbah about nature, and science in general, and their connection to Islam, and also how the study of science can enrich our spiritual development as Muslims.

Islam has a special connection to nature. The very symbol of our religion is the moon because our practices are tied to the lunar calendar. Qur’an also refers to nature frequently as evidence of and tribute to Allah’s creation. For example, in Surat Ash-Shams (91, Ayat 1-6), Allah refers to daily natural phenomena:

I swear by the sun and its broad light/ and by the moon when it follows/ and by the day when it shows its brightness/ and by the night when it envelops/ and by the sky, and the One who built it/ and by the earth, and the one who spread it.

Nature is a common theme in Quran. Many surahs mention aspects of nature – plants, animals, water, earth, and celestial bodies – when conveying the greatness of Allah’s creation. It emphasizes that human beings are not the only proof of Allah’s presence.

One thing that I have found remarkable in my study of Quran is that the Message actually alludes to some aspects of nature that people were not aware of at all in the 7^th century. For example:

·      Surat Al-Room (30), Aya 8 – “Allah did not create the heavens and the earth and what is between them but with a just cause and for an appointed time.” We now know that our world has a finite lifespan. Our planet was born when our Sun formed about 4.6 billion years ago, and we estimate that the sun will burn for about another 5 billion years, after which our planet will die as well.

·      Allah says in Surat Al-Anbiya (21), Aya 30, “We created from water every living thing.” We now know that all life, as we know it, is made from water.

·      In Surat Al-‘Alaq (96), Allah says, “man was created from a clot of blood.” Back then, the process of fetal development from a single cell in the womb was completely unknown, and yet here it is referenced in the Quran.

·      And one of my favorite passages, from Surat Al-Ana’am (6), Aya 38: “[Every] creature moving on earth, [every] bird flying on its two wings, they are all communities like you. We have not missed anything in the book. Then, to their Lord all of them shall be gathered.” Here Allah tells us that other animals have rich communities of which we know nothing, that the world we inhabit extends far beyond what we encounter in daily life – and furthermore, that every creature on earth returns to Allah just as we do. Think of everything we now understand about ecological interactions between animals in their communities – this was something that Arabs did not contemplate before the revelation of the Quran.  

These descriptions, apart from being beautiful, give us another great advantage: they are all symbolic. We need not read them literally. Quranic references to science and nature are subject to new interpretation as new evidence comes to light. There is nothing in the Quran that is not commensurate with the scientific evidence we find today in the fossil record, in the rock record, in our microscopes and telescopes. And we will continue to find new meaning in the Quran as our scientific knowledge expands.

Throughout the Quran, Allah encourages us to seek knowledge and truth about the world around us and everything in it as part of our worship of Allah. In Surat Al-Baqara (2), Aya 164, Allah tells us to observe natural phenomena and find signs of Allah’s presence:

“Surely, in the creation of heavens and earth, and the alternation of night and day, and the ships that sail in the sea, carrying that which benefits men, and in the water Allah sent down from the sky, then revived with it the earth after it was dead, and in every creature He has scattered on it, and in turning of winds, and in the clouds employed to serve between heaven and earth, there are signs for those who have sense.”

Many times Allah says in Quran that there are signs in nature for “people of wisdom,” “those who have faith,” “people who believe,” “people who understand” (3:190, 45:3-5). Clearly, Allah wants us to use our capacity for observation and logic to understand the world around us. Indeed, the Prophet once said, “An hour’s study of nature is better than a year of prayer.”

If you ever need proof of Allah’s presence, just look outside. All of nature is a miracle. It has an order and a purpose, just as we do. We are part of nature. We grow a certain way. We function a certain way. Every creature on Earth lives its life a certain way. The weather changes and the seasons pass due to specific forces. In all of this harmony and order, I see a miracle. To me, this is as much proof of Allah’s existence as the Quran itself.

Now to be clear, the Quran is not a source of scientific knowledge. It is a source of revelation, with references and allusions to the world we inhabit. It can help us understand the world in the context of our faith. The Quran is a book of guidance, not scientific facts. Quran tells us to seek knowledge, to be curious about our world, and to always strive to understand the world Allah has created so that we may improve our lives and deepen our appreciation for everything on Earth and in the heavens.

Studying nature has another benefit – it teaches humility. In Surat Ghaafir (40), Aya 57, Allah says, “Certainly, the creation of the heavens and the earth is greater than the creation of human beings, but most human beings do not understand.” By studying the natural world, in its infinite vastness and complexity, we are reminded of how small we are in comparison to the rest of the Earth, to the Universe… and also how remarkably intricate we are as human beings… how improbable and how wonderful it is that we have come to be as we are. And that we are wholly responsible for our unique knowledge and abilities. We can use our capacities to improve this world, or to destroy it, and to help or destroy each other. It is a ceaseless struggle that we all face as individuals, as families, as communities and nations, and as a race. And for this struggle, scientific knowledge is absolutely critical.

The very first verse of Quran that was revealed to Prophet Muhammad, who was illiterate, instructed him to read: “Read in the name of your God who created everything”… and later “Who imparted knowledge by means of the pen/ He taught man what he did not know” (Surat Al-Alaq, 96, Ayas 1, 4, 5). The first command from Allah was to read, because Allah makes us knowledgeable. Seeking knowledge is a part of being Muslim. It is inherent in our practice of our religion – in order to practice Islam, we must learn to read and recite Quran; we must learn the history of Islam and especially the story of the Prophet and his early followers; and we must constantly ask ourselves how we can translate Islam into our daily lives.

Seeking knowledge is also a rich part of our heritage as Muslims. For over 800 years after the rise of Islam, Muslim cities were hubs of scholarly study and exchange. This period is known as the “Golden Age of Islam.” Muslims made major contributions in almost every field and even invented new areas of study. A few examples:

·      Muslims built scientific libraries, universities, and hospitals throughout their empires.

·      Muslims invented the concept of the scientific method and made mathematics the language of science. They revolutionized mathematics, geometry, and astronomy.

·      Muslims also made major advances in chemistry, medicine, optics, geography, navigation, and city planning. They created a rich culture of literature, music, art, and architecture. Muslims also invented a slew of ingenious devices for all sorts of purposes. The Islamic World was the epitome of learning and culture in its heyday.

For various reasons, the Golden Age of Islam declined, and the Islamic world has never been the same. But we must not forget this rich part of our history. We should continue it. We are blessed with wonderful resources, especially in regard to education. We should treat education – not just Islamic education, but in all matters – as a critical part of our spiritual development.

            The Prophet Muhammad once told his followers, “We should question as much as Ibrahim did when he asked God, ‘My Lord, show me how you give life to the dead (referring to Surat Al-Baqara, 2, Aya 260).’” The Prophet encouraged Muslims to be inquisitive and to seek knowledge.  The Quran also says in Surat Al-Mujaadila (58), Aya 11, that “Allah will elevate those who have believed and [those who have] sought knowledge.” Surat Ta-Ha (20), Aya 114, even instructs Muslims to say as a prayer, “My Lord, give me more knowledge.” Repeatedly, the Message tells us that pursuit of knowledge is an integral part of practicing Islam and worshiping Allah.

So when you go to school, or read a book, or listen to the news, or even look up at the sky… that is part of being Muslim. Ask questions. Never stop wondering. Seek new knowledge about anything and everything. And I especially encourage you to seek knowledge about science, and the natural world, as part of your worship of Islam. I will conclude with a quote from Ziauddin Sardar in his book, Reading the Qur’an: The Contemporary Relevance of the Sacred Text of Islam (p. 357):

‘Just as the spirit of Islam in history was defined by its scientific enterprise, so the future of Muslim societies is dependent on their relationship with science and learning. Without science and technology, Muslim culture is, and will remain, truncated and unbalanced. Given that scientific knowledge is a form of worship, a way to understand God’s creation and His will, and an obligation as important as prayer, I would argue that Muslim worship is incomplete without science.’