Ibn Taymiyyah’s Essay on Servitude

Ever since the dawn of human life on this planet, Man has always sought to understand Nature, his own place in the scheme of Creation and the purpose of Life itself. In this seek for Truth, spanning many centuries and diverse civilizations, the course of history has been determined to a large extent by organizing religion which has shaped human life. While some religions have been based on books as claimed by their adherents to be divinely inspired, others have relied only on human experience.

The main source of the Islamic faith, Al-Qur’an, is a book believed by Muslims, to be of fully Divine origin. It is also believed by Muslims that it contains Divine guidance for all humankind. As the message of Quran is believed to be for all times, it should be relevant to every age. Does the Qur’an pass this test? I intend to give an objective analysis of the Muslim belief in this booklet regarding the Divine origin of the Qur’an, in the light of established scientific discoveries.

In the history of world civilization there was a time when ‘miracles’, or what was perceived to be a miracle, took precedence over human reason and logic. But how do we define the term ‘miracle’? A miracle is anything that takes place out of the normal course of life and for which humankind has no explanation. Though, we must be careful before we accept something as a miracle. An article in `The Times of India’, Mumbai, in 1993 reported that ‘a saint’ by the name ‘Baba Pilot’ claimed to have stayed continuously submerged under water in a tank for three consecutive days and nights.

But he refused the reporters to examine the base of the tank of water where he claimed to have performed this ‘miraculous’ feat. He argued by asking as to how one could examine the womb of a mother that gives birth to a child. The `Baba’ was hiding something and it was considered to be a gimmick simply to gain publicity.

Certainly, no contemporary man with even the slightest inkling towards rational thinking would accept such a ‘miracle’. We would have to accept Mr. P.C. Sorcar, the world famous magician known for his ingenious magical tricks and illusions, as the best god-man if such false miracles are the tests of divinity.

A book, claiming Divine origin, is in effect, claiming to be a miracle. Such a claim should be easily verifiable in any age, as per the standards of that age. It is believed by the Muslims that the Quran is the last and final revelation of God, the miracle of miracles revealed as a mercy to humankind. Both Quran and science are related. Let us therefore scrutinize the veracity of this belief.