Bismillahir Ar Rahmanir Raheem. In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
Behold! in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day,- there are indeed Signs for men of understanding,-
Men who celebrate the praises of Allah, standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and contemplate the (wonders of) creation in the heavens and the earth, (With the thought): “Our Lord! Not for naught Hast Thou created (all) this! Glory to Thee! Give us salvation from the penalty of the Fire.”
Holy Quran (3:190-191)
I’m a graduate student at North Carolina State University with a major in Atmospheric Sciences. When people ask me what my major is, and I tell them, I usually need to repeat this a few times, because, well, it is a unique discipline. It is a pity that not many Muslims go into such disciplines – Earth Sciences, the Marine Sciences or the Atmospheric Sciences, because personally I feel that the ayaat above is a really compelling reason to study these Sciences. A number of the Muslim scholars, including Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khawarizmi and Al-Idrisi, were astronomers, astrologers or geographers. I would think that this was most likely due to the fact that they were contemplating the creation of the earth and how it works, which is what Allah (SWT) has commanded us to do.
An amazing thing about studying Atmospheric Science would be the fact that the more you study, the more you realize you don’t know, and the more you realize how insignificant you are in this world, and thus the more you realize how powerless you are. You also realize how little human beings in general, even the best Atmospheric Scientists out there, know about how the earth works, and you become amazed when you understand a little bit of the Earth’s processes; all you can really say is AllahuAkbar! Even with all the scientific advancement out there, scientists still cannot predict accurately the route that can be taken by a hurricane a few days before the hurricane hits. Scientists use models to try to predict where and how the hurricane will hit, using a combination of mathematics, of the natural laws of the conservation of mass, energy and momentum, the environmental conditions at that point in time, their limited understanding of how a hurricane forms, and past data to try to come up with answers. While with these models we can reduce the number of casualties, the point is, we still cannot fully predict these catastrophic events.
And the heaven He raised and imposed the balance. That you not transgress within the balance. And establish weight in justice and do not make deficient the balance.
Holy Quran (55:7-9)
It is amazing how everything in this world is balanced. Yes, we know that, but how exactly is it balanced? The amount of balance that goes on in the natural earth and atmosphere, and how everything flows from one to another, makes one amazed at how intelligent the Creator of this system is. Take for example, wind. The same wind that can come and caresses you as a gentle breeze can also be furious and strong like in a tornado. Have you ever wondered what exactly causes wind? Did the air just decide to move faster out of its own will? Not exactly. Wind is formed due to uneven heating of the earth’s surface. To simplify: when a part of the earth is heated, air rises, pressure of that area decreases, and the mass of air moves from a high pressure to a low pressure system, causing wind. In keeping the balance (i.e. balancing out from high pressure to low pressure), wind is formed! Everything plays a part to make this work: radiation from the sun, conduction of heat from the ground, and the mass of air. Everything works systematically!
Lastly, the most incredible fact about all these is that Allah (SWT) makes these “knowable.” These are systems that are consistent, that we study, and that we can understand, yet we do not fully understand them totally, because our knowledge can never encompass Allah’s knowledge. We understand enough to appreciate it, to be awed and thankful for it, and to desire more of it. While some non-Muslims say they believe in Science, and not religion, we as Muslims think of Science as discovering Allah’s creations and the systems that He set up while understanding His infinite abilities as not only the Creator, but as the Sustainer of the universe, and the One who grants us knowledge so that We can appreciate and worship Him.
