Although matter serves monotheism in all its forms, how does science, which deals with all correct and logical knowledge about nature, thought, and society based on matter, view this state of matter? Does science really continue its service against religion, as Islam’s enemies constantly claim in their words, or, on the contrary, does science’s service to religion emerge with every new discovery, and are these words the slander of people who know nothing about religion or science? Let us examine together, insha’Allah, whether science reveals the obsolescence of religion, as the ignorant claim, or religion reveals the obsolescence of science.

Unfortunately, many studies of this kind, despite being well-intentioned, attempt to prove the existence of God in terms of their approach to the subject and their style of presentation. However, preaching should be done not to prove existence, but to ensure obedience to that existence. This is definitely not the aim of our work. Our work aims to compensate for the mistakes caused by people not accepting the Quran as a fundamental source in the field of science, as in any other field, and the loss of time resulting from these mistakes. For this purpose, at the end of each topic, the year difference between the discovery of the relevant matter and its mention in the Quran is emphasized.

When we talk about science, what comes to mind is the reason for the development of the Western world, namely the intensive translation of Arabic works by Islamic scholars, particularly those in Andalusia and Sicily, into Latin in the 12th century. That is why this century is called the “century of translation.” The Western world only began to systematically conduct observations and experiments based on this knowledge in the 16th century and entered a movement known as the Renaissance(^[179]). In other words, the Western world has gained momentum in science today based on the work of scholars who drew their values from Islam. Despite acquiring such fundamental knowledge, Islamic scholars’ discoveries ( ) were achieved under difficult conditions and at a later date, stemming from their failure to properly follow their guides. Based on this perspective, we approached our work in three ways: technical knowledge, lost time, and other verses in the context of the news.

Their objectives are as follows:

• Although all beneficial branches of science originate from the Islamic religion, the fact that the vast majority of today’s Muslims lack complete knowledge about their past and world due to being kept ignorant for economic or political reasons has prompted us to undertake a study that conveys technical knowledge.
• The reason we address lost time is to reveal the loss suffered by societies in the name of science, led by people who do not accept the Quran as a scientific value.
• The reason for presenting the verses in the context of the news is to showcase the richness and subtlety of the topics in the Holy Quran.

We have added some wishes and small notes to our work. The first is our attempt to provide the dates on which the verses, which are the first of their kind in their field, were revealed. These dates have been determined as a result of studies conducted on the science of siyer. They have been used to indicate approximate times in order to determine the time lost between the revelation and the event. I seek refuge in Allah (swt) from any possible mistakes we may have made. Surely, Allah (swt) knows best. The second is our hope that scientists will compare the verses with the truths of science and carry out their future work under the shadow of the Holy Quran, solely for the purpose of serving goodness and morality, with the philosophy that “it is better to turn back from harm wherever possible.” Because it is in a leading position, this approach to science will also help humanity emerge from its state of heedlessness. With these hopes, let us begin our section with one of the nations whose lives ended in suffering because they did not accept Allah and His Prophets.

THE AD PEOPLE

ISLAM

PLACE: Mecca

DATE: 612

NAME: The Holy Quran, Surah Fajr, verses 6–8

NEWS: Have you not seen what your Lord did to the Ad people? To Iram, the city of pillars? There was no other city like it in the world.

SCIENCE

LOCATION: Oman

DATE: 1990

NAME: Nicholas Clapp

NEWS: The city beneath the earth

Nicholas Clapp, who discovered the lost city, is an Arab expert and documentary filmmaker with an amateur interest in archaeology. While conducting research on Arab history, he came across a book titled “Arabia Felix” written in 1932 by an English researcher named Thomas Bertram Sidney^[180]. This book, meaning “Happy Arabia,” was the name given to the region covering Yemen and Oman in the south of the Arabian Peninsula. This name reflects the state of the lands where the Ad tribe lived. The English researcher Thomas also tried very hard to find this city, but he did not live long enough to do so.

Clapp took two approaches to prove the city’s existence. First, he found trail marks mentioned by the Bedouins, the region’s indigenous people. He requested NASA to take satellite images of the region. Secondly, he examined ancient inscriptions and maps at the Huntington Library in California. As a result of this research, he found a map drawn by the Greek geographer Ptolemy in 200 AD. The map clearly showed the location of an ancient city and the roads leading to it. Images from NASA also revealed some road traces visible from the air. Clapp compared the images with his map and found a large area that appeared to be a city. Excavations in this area eventually uncovered the city’s ruins 12 meters below the sand. The place where the Ad tribe lived is located in the east of present-day Yemen, north of the Sea of Oman. Today, this place is a desert covered in sand dunes. When mentioning the place of the Ad tribe, the Quran also mentions “Ahkaf” (^[181]), which means long and winding sand dunes. The people of this tribe were from the Amalika tribe and were strong and powerful. They built beautiful palaces on large, high hills. They lived in castles and houses with large gardens on the banks of rivers. They were blessed with abundance, but despite this, instead of being grateful, they worshipped gods other than Allah. On this subject, Ibn Kathir says: “The people of ‘Ad had three idols. These were: 1. Sada, 2. Semuda, 3. Hera.”(^[182])

Upon this, Allah (swt) sent Hud (as), who had previously been engaged in trade, as a warner and a prophet to frighten them. However, despite all the warnings, they did not abandon their gods.

ALLAH (c.c.) informs us of this event as follows:

We sent Hud as a prophet to the people of ‘Ad. Hud said to them, “O my people, worship Allah; you have no other god but Him. Do you not fear Him?” The leading disbelievers among his people said to him, “We see you as a fool and think you are a liar.” Hud said to them, “I am not foolish; rather, I am a prophet sent by the Lord of all creation. I convey to you the messages of my Lord; I am a trustworthy advisor and a warner for you. Does it seem strange to you that your Lord should send a message to you through one of your own kind to warn you? Remember that Allah has replaced you with the people of Noah and created you stronger than them in physical strength. Remember Allah’s blessings so that you may be saved.” His people said to him, “Have you come to us to tell us to worship one God and abandon the gods our ancestors worshipped? If what you say is true, bring upon us the punishment you say will befall us in the future, and let us see.” Hud said to them, “The punishment and wrath of your Lord has been decreed against you. Are you arguing with me over names that you and your ancestors have invented, for which Allah has sent down no authority? Then wait, for I too am waiting with you^.” (^[183])

Despite knowing the One Creator, the idea of abandoning other intermediaries seemed “foolish” to the people of ‘Ad.

This is the portrait of groups who are unaware of Allah (swt)’s essence and message… In fact, when and where has this portrait ever taken on a different status… The contradiction between living with the power that comes from legitimizing group action and expecting approval from the owner of the religion…

Even though Hud (peace be upon him) warned his people of Allah’s punishment, they still persisted in their disbelief. He gave the example of Noah’s (peace be upon him) people, but they continued with their thoughts. He reminded them of the blessings and invited them to be grateful, but the result remained the same. In response to all this advice, he said he did not ask for any payment from them, that he did not need thanks, but the result was still negative. Despite all this, they resisted Hud’s (as) invitation, belittled his words, and began to pressure him, accusing him of being confused and insane. They accused him of talking nonsense because their gods had caused him harm. And when the message delivered to them became a subject of ridicule, Allah (c.c.) sent His punishment.

When they first saw the cloud they had been expecting to bring rain, they were not particularly surprised. Then a dry wind blew upon them. This wind blew fiercely upon them for seven nights and eight days without stopping, and the tribe was thus destroyed. The Holy Quran informs us of this event 1378 years ago. The verses explain the event as follows.

ALLAH (c.c.) says:

Remember Hud, the brother of the Ad people. Before and after him, many warners had come, saying, “Do not worship anyone but Allah.” He warned his people in the Ahkaf region, saying, “Truly, I fear for you the punishment of the great Day.” They said, “Have you come to turn us away from our gods? If you are truthful, bring upon us what you threaten.” Say, “Knowledge of when the punishment will come is only with Allah. I convey to you what I have been commanded, but I see you as a people who are ignorant.” When they saw the punishment approaching their valleys in the form of a vast cloud on the horizon, they said, “This is a cloud that will bring us rain.” ^No, it is a wind bearing a painful punishment, which will destroy everything by the command of its Lord. Then they were destroyed, and nothing remained of their homes. Thus do We punish the wrongdoing people. 

Despite frightening them with Allah’s punishment, giving them examples from past generations, and not demanding any payment in return for their advice, all the prophets who called people to the One God of the Worlds were subjected to accusations of senility, madness, sorcery, mockery, and foolishness. This situation shows us the horror caused by ignorance, while also demonstrating that there is no god but Allah, that we are commanded to live with this awareness, and that we must strive to make this awareness a reality.

The modern mindset views these events not as cautionary tales of the possible consequences of human ignorance, but as historical information presenting the lives of people who lived in the past. This perspective is far removed from the wisdom of Allah’s verses in informing us. Without knowing the essence of religion, such as accepting God as one and obeying the prophets, even if a person knows and memorizes the meaning of these verses, they will remain distant from the true purpose of the narrative by approaching events with an “except me” mentality.

[179] The renewal of literature, art, philosophy, and science in Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries

[180] (b. 1892–d. 1950)

[181] The name of the 46th surah of the Quran

[182] Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya, 1/121

[183] Surah Al-Araf, verses 65–71

[184] Surah al-Ahqaf, verses 21–25