Nazarul Islam | USA

In the Islamic intellectual history, few contributions have been as profound and far-reaching as those of rationalist scholars who shaped the development of Islamic natural law theories. They stand out not only for their philosophical insights but also for their commitment to reason as a guiding principle in understanding morality and justice.

My article seeks to briefly outline the contributions of these scholars and their impact on Islamic jurisprudence, while also examining the subsequent decline of rationalist thought in the Islamic world after the thirteenth century and how contemporary progressive Muslim scholars are reviving Islamic natural law theories.

What is Islam’s rational dimension?

The rationalist tradition in Islamic philosophy emerged in a context where diverse intellectual currents were converging. Philosophers such as Abū Bakr al-Rāzī and Ibn al-Hasan al-Tūsī engaged deeply with the works of Greek philosophers, particularly Aristotle and Plato, while simultaneously addressing the unique challenges posed by Islamic theology. This synthesis of Hellenistic philosophy and Islamic thought laid the groundwork for a rich discourse on natural rights and the moral foundations of law.

Among the notable figures is Ibn Bāja (d. 533/1139), who emphasized the importance of reason as a means to understand the divine order.

His writings reflect a belief that human beings, endowed with reason, can discern natural laws that govern both the cosmos and human conduct. Similarly, Ibn Rushd(d. 595/1198), known in the West as Averroes, championed the harmony between religion and philosophy. His commentaries on Aristotle were pivotal in promoting rational inquiry as a legitimate path to understanding religious truths.

Another significant thinker, Ibn Tufayl(d. 581/1185), explored the implications of natural law through his philosophical novel Hayy ibn Yaqdhan.

The story illustrates how a human being, through reason and observation, can arrive at knowledge of God and moral truths without the need for religious texts. This notion of self-discovery through reason underscores a broader rationalist perspective that transcends dogma.

Emergence of Natural Rights in Islam:

The contributions of these scholars culminated in the classical natural rights thesis, which establishes that rights are inherent to human beings and can be discerned through reason. This idea resonates with contemporary discussions on human rights, highlighting a historical precedent for the recognition of individual dignity and moral agency within Islamic thought.

Rationalist jurists such as Ibn ‘Aqīl (d. 581/1185) and Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d. 606/1209) further enriched this discourse by engaging with the ethical implications of natural law. They argued that justice is not merely a reflection of divine command but can be understood through rational deliberation. This perspective laid the groundwork for a more nuanced interpretation of Sharia that incorporated ethical reasoning alongside traditional jurisprudence.

Why did rationalist influence decline?

Despite these significant contributions, the influence of rationalist scholars began to wane after the thirteenth century. A combination of political, social, and intellectual factors contributed to this decline. The rise of more dogmatic interpretations of Islam, particularly in the context of the Sunni-Shi‘i divide, led to a diminishing space for rationalist discourse.

The establishment of orthodox schools of thought, which prioritized textual authority over philosophical inquiry, further marginalized the rationalist tradition.

During the Ottoman and Safavid periods, while some scholars made noteworthy contributions, their works often remained isolated achievements in an otherwise inhospitable intellectual environment. This is particularly evident in the writings of figures like Mullā Sadrā (d. 1641), who, despite his innovative synthesis of philosophy and theology, struggled to find a broader audience within a predominantly conservative milieu.

Revival of Natural Law traditions:

In recent decades, a new generation of progressive Muslim scholars has emerged, seeking to revive and expand upon the rationalist tradition of Islamic natural law. Figures such as Ebrahim Moosa, Hassan Hanafi, Muhammad Abed al-Jabiri, and Mohsen Kadivar are at the forefront of this intellectual revival, each contributing unique perspectives that reflect a commitment to reason, ethical inquiry, and social justice.

In the Islamic intellectual history, few contributions have been as profound and far-reaching as those of rationalist scholars who shaped the development of Islamic natural law theories. They stand out not only for their philosophical insights but also for their commitment to reason as a guiding principle in understanding morality and justice.

What is rationalist tradition in Islamic thought?

The rationalist tradition in Islamic philosophy emerged in a context where diverse intellectual currents were converging. Philosophers such as Abū Bakr al-Rāzī and Ibn al-Hasan al-Tūsī engaged deeply with the works of Greek philosophers, particularly Aristotle and Plato, while simultaneously addressing the unique challenges posed by Islamic theology.

Among the notable figures is Ibn Bāja (d. 533/1139), who emphasized the importance of reason as a means to understand the divine order. His writings reflect a belief that human beings, endowed with reason, can discern natural laws that govern both the cosmos and human conduct.

Similarly, Ibn Rushd(d. 595/1198), known in the West as Averroes, championed the harmony between religion and philosophy. His commentaries on Aristotle were pivotal in promoting rational inquiry as a legitimate path to understanding religious truths.

Another significant thinker, Ibn Tufayl(d. 581/1185), explored the implications of natural law through his philosophical novel Hayy ibn Yaqdhan. The story illustrates how a human being, through reason and observation, can arrive at knowledge of God and moral truths without the need for religious texts.

How did Islamic Natural Rights evolve?

The contributions of these scholars culminated in the classical natural rights thesis, which posits that rights are inherent to human beings and can be discerned through reason. This idea resonates with contemporary discussions on human rights, highlighting a historical precedent for the recognition of individual dignity and moral agency within Islamic thought.

Rationalist jurists such as Ibn ‘Aqīl (d. 581/1185) and Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d. 606/1209) further enriched this discourse by engaging with the ethical implications of natural law.

They argued that justice is not merely a reflection of divine command but can be understood through rational deliberation. This perspective laid the groundwork for a more nuanced interpretation of Sharia that incorporated ethical reasoning alongside traditional jurisprudence.

The School of Illumination, founded by al-Suharwardy (d. 587/1191), introduced a mystical dimension to rationalism, suggesting that intellectual illumination could lead to a deeper understanding of divine truths. This integration of mysticism with rational thought provided a holistic approach to natural law, suggesting that moral truths could be accessed through both reason and spiritual insight.

We need to explore the new avenues for dialogue between Islamic philosophy and Western thought. The principles articulated by rationalist scholars resonate with contemporary debates on universal human rights, challenging the perception that Islamic thought is inherently opposed to rationalism or individual rights.

Do scholars see a brighter future?

The rationalist scholars of the Islamic tradition laid the intellectual groundwork for a robust understanding of natural law and human rights in the contemporary period as exemplified by progressive Muslim scholars. Their contributions underscore the importance of reason in ethical deliberation and legal jurisprudence, offering a perspective that remains relevant in today’s discussions on morality and justice.

The challenge now lies in fostering an intellectual environment that allows for the flourishing of reasoned discourse, ensuring that the legacy of these scholars continues to inform and enrich the moral landscape of contemporary Islamic civilization.

The efforts of progressive Muslim scholars today further this legacy, demonstrating that the principles of natural law and ethical governance can thrive within the framework of Islam, ultimately contributing to a more just and equitable society.

Read: The Rise and Fall of Ottoman Empire

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The Bengal-born writer Nazarul Islam is a senior educationist based in USA. He writes for Sindh Courier and the newspapers of Bangladesh, India and America. He is author of a recently published book ‘Chasing Hope’ – a compilation of his articles.

The post Reviving Islamic Discourse and Rationalism first appeared on Sindh Courier.

By Nazarul Islam | USA

Religion is on the back foot today in the western world, due to a combination of factors including generational shifts, changing family structures, and increased secularization. Younger generations are less religious than their elders, and many people are drifting away from faith due to a lack of strong formative religious experiences or a perception of declining institutional trust. Societal changes such as increased education and women’s empowerment also contribute to shifting views on religion.

According to the United Kingdom census, published in 2012, around 25 percent of the population no longer believes in God, an increase of eight percent in only six years.  The European average is higher still. Scandinavians, for example, with their atheist majorities, have traversed much farther along the road to rejection of observant gods and extravagant ritual.

Their countries are among the most advanced, prosperous, peaceful and co-operative in the world and the people have found new ways to be kind to one another without agonizing over a spy in the sky, an ever-watchful and judgemental God.

The large increase in the proportion of the Europe’s non-believers cannot be appropriated entirely to disaffection with either God or religion. The other factor is simply this: as members of the older generation die, their unconditional belief is not being conserved by a skeptical younger generation.

The religious baton is not being passed on as unerringly as in yesteryear. Whatever doubts there may be about the educational standards of today, the young are generally better informed than their forebears ever were.  We are living in an age of swift communications—the like of which has never been seen before.

Tim Berners-Lee, the British computer scientist and developer of the World Wide Web (WWW), needs to be applauded for not seeking to enrich himself by surrounding his invention by a wall of patents.  Instead, the WWW became publicly available and ushered in a new age of enlightenment.  News, debates and opinions are available to everyone, 24 hours a day, and these encourage people, particularly the inquisitive young, to ask just one more question.

This is an entirely different scenario from that pertaining to the Age of Enlightenment that took place in 18th century Europe and America.  As a cultural movement with the aim of reforming society using reason, it rejected the influence of faith, revelation, superstition and tradition believing in the advancement of knowledge through science.

Intellectual interchange was seen as the way forward whilst opposing intolerance and the many abuses perpetrated by both church and state.

It was, however, largely a movement by intellectuals for intellectuals and, despite flourishing for over 100 years, it could not be sustained.  It had not permeated the grass roots of society who remained ignorant of its ideals and noble intent.  In contrast, nowadays, almost everyone is exposed to a thousand times more information than could possibly have been imparted during the Enlightenment.

It is the impact of the age of communications on knowledge, opinion and evidence-based decision making that is pushing religion to the sidelines. The young are increasingly reluctant to accept traditionally held views and it is, primarily, this that is hastening the move towards secularism.

They are told through revelations in Holy Scriptures that (Prophet) Moses parted the waters of the Red Sea and that dead people were brought back to life, that Lord Jesus was able to walk on water and that Prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon Him) traveled from Mecca to Jerusalem on a winged horse at a speed that would embarrass a Space Shuttle.

Read: Religion is declining worldwide in a predictable sequence, study argues

The younger generation finds these scriptural tales lacking in credibility simply because they are impossible. Whilst tales such as these may serve to aggrandize religion for their elders, they serve only to devalue it in the minds of the young.

Why do they ask, despite centuries of repression, bloodshed and forced conversions is only about one half of the world’s population monotheistic? Why, if only half the world believes in him, hasn’t God ordained a unity of faith? To be told that it’s because he gave mankind free will is, to them, a particularly feeble answer.

Young people now know that the Earth was formed about 4.5 billion years ago which is emphatically at variance with scriptural accounts. They are aware that fossil and DNA evidence age the first single-celled organism, a prokaryote, at around 3.6 billion years and that the first creature with a complex cell structure, a eukaryote, did not appear for almost another two billion years.

Such an inordinate length of time, they reason, is irreconcilable with an omnipotent, supernatural creator, namely God.  They also know that the first mammal, tiny and shrew-like, appeared around 225 million years ago after a further elapsed time of nearly two billion years. Surely, of all the arguments that can be arraigned against the existence of God, it is the argument from time that is the most compelling.

It is claimed by creationists that an animal as complex as a horse, for example, must have been designed which implies that there must have been a designer. It is perfectly true that, constituting billions of cells, the horse is highly complex and if it had suddenly materialized without any historical lineage deep into its primordial past, one would suspect it was the work of a supernatural deity.

On the contrary, however, scientists have demonstrated that the horse is the product of millions of years of Darwinian evolution and natural selection. With greater knowledge of the natural world than was ever available to their forebears, young people know that a single design cannot take millions of years to implement.

If one can speak of design at all, such a time lapse would involve countless designs and re-designs simulating evolution in the absence of a supernatural designer. An omnipotent deity would, after all, get the design right first time and would have no need of continual modification.

Recognition of the world’s imperfections also causes the young to question God’s existence. In the words of Lucretius, the ancient Roman poet and philosopher:

“Had God designed the world, it would not be a world so frail and faulty as we see.”

Examples of poor design are illness, disease, predation, natural disasters, evil, cruelty and murder (particularly on religious grounds). If the Yersinia pestis bacterium, the cause of the Black Death of the Middle Ages, had been just a few percentage points more virulent, the whole of Europe’s population (and possibly the world’s) would have been extirpated.

As it was, 100 million people died of dreadful plague. Today, mosquitoes act as a vehicle for many disease-causing viruses, transferring them to humans without themselves exhibiting any symptoms. They are estimated to transmit disease to more than 700 million people annually resulting in over two million fatalities.

Young people rightly wonder how all of this can be part of a benevolent creator’s design. Was it really part of God’s plan for man to co-exist with countless micro-organisms endowed with the capacity to wipe him out?

If, for some inexplicable reason, it suited God’s purpose to fill the world with harmful bacteria, wouldn’t it have made sense to equip humans with a prophylactic immune system instead of the delicate one afforded them?

When Sir David Attenborough, our most respected broadcaster, was asked whether his observation of the natural world had given him faith in a divine creator, he responded by making reference to the Loa loa parasitic worm, also known as the eye worm.

He said:

“My response is that when Creationists talk about God creating every individual species as a separate act, they always instance hummingbirds, or orchids, sunflowers and beautiful things.  But I tend to think instead of a parasitic worm that is boring through the eye of a boy sitting on the bank of a river in West Africa, a worm that’s going to make him blind. 

And I ask them, ‘Are you telling me that the God you believe in, who you also say is an all-merciful God, who cares for each one of us individually, are you saying that God created this worm that can live in no other way than in an innocent child’s eyeball?’ Because that doesn’t seem to me to coincide with a God who’s full of mercy.”

The only ‘evidence’ for God perceived by young people is based on aberrant holy text.  The more they apply logic and reason, the more they realize that the scriptures are works of fiction: fabricated, abridged and adulterated.

The great Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States, wrote in a letter to John Adams, his friend and predecessor:

“The whole history of these books (the gospels) is so defective and doubtful that it seems vain to attempt minute enquiry into it.”

He also wrote, in his later years:

“Fix Reason firmly in her seat, and call to her tribunal every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve the homage of reason than of blindfolded fear.”

The Book of Genesis purports that Adam was created the first man on Earth about 6,000 years ago but it has been scientifically established that modern man (Homo sapiens) first appeared almost 200,000 years earlier.

These early humans were polytheistic in that they ascribed anything they could not understand to a panoply of gods whom they constantly sought to appease. It is clear that polytheistic religions have existed for many thousands of years and are widespread even today.

However, according to Genesis, seminal events took place around 4,000 years ago during the life of the Hebrew, Abraham, and the advent of monotheism.  It is as if, at this time, God thought to himself:

“Well, thousands of millions of years have elapsed since I created planet Earth.  Polytheism’s had a good run so I think it’s high time the Earthlings knew about me.  I need someone to spread the word.  I don’t think I’ll choose a polymath, a scientist or philosopher; it’s an itinerant tribesman for me.”

One would, of course, have expected God to appear efficaciously before everyone at the same time, communicate his laws and ensure a unified religion but, by opting for the single tribesman route, he ensured that subsequently millions of people would be killed defending their version of the truth.  Is it any wonder that young people have developed a mistrust of religion?

Moreover, it is written that Abraham entered into a covenant with God in which he was promised that his descendants would be made into a great nation. The covenant was sanctified by the rite of circumcision in accordance with God’s command but why God, after tens of thousands of years of human existence, suddenly decided it was essential that the prepuce of an eight-day old child’s genitalia should be sliced off with the aid of any proximate sharp implement remains a mystery.

The young people of today, however, are not so naïve as to accept this at face value. They know perfectly well that if God really found a morsel of flesh so offensive, he would not have endowed humanity with it in the first place.

Despite this, around one-third of the world’s male population is circumcised on religious grounds, chiefly according to the directives of Judaism and Islam.  Even in the United States, one of the world’s most medically advanced countries, one in 500 infants suffers acute complications owing to circumcision.

One can only imagine how high the figure might be in more primitive societies and how many children must have died from infection over the course of millennia. Performing this process to ensure well-being on medical grounds is understandable but to do so because of some misguided religious rite is as preposterous as it is barbaric.

Why are we so conditioned to religion, anyway? Belief in gods would have originated primarily out of fear and, from early forms of religion, humans would have derived consolation, comfort and a sense of security.  Their religion would have fostered togetherness, binding them to something much greater than their group or tribe and, furthermore, it would have satisfied their innate need for leadership.

The desire for leadership has a long evolutionary history and applies to most species of the animal kingdom: hence, for example, the mammalian alpha male (or female). For their part, humans look to different kinds of leaders (meritocratic, military, political, spiritual and so on) to keep them safe or maintain a sense of well-being.  Leaders, of course, have their own need for leadership, ultimately in the guise of some divine power.

According to Bertrand Russell, the brilliant British philosopher and mathematician:

“Religion is based primarily upon fear.  It is partly the terror of the unknown and partly the wish to feel that you have a kind of elder brother who will stand by you in all your troubles and disputes.”

After tens of thousands of years of propitiation to supernatural deities, it is quite possible that mankind has evolved to the extent that religion is virtually ‘hard-wired’ into the psyche.  If this is the case, for many people the dependence on some form of religion would be almost impossible to dispel.

To break free of this dependence requires considerable intellectual application.  Bertrand Russell pointed out:

 “This state of mind is rather difficult: it requires a high degree of intellectual culture without emotional atrophy.”

In reference to the scriptures, he added:

“A good world needs knowledge, kindliness, and courage; it does not need a regretful hankering after the past or a fettering of the free intelligence by the words uttered long ago by ignorant men.”

One can attend almost any church service and be told that “God is Love”, a statement unsubstantiated by daily events, both great and small. There was no evidence of love when Aztec priests plunged their razor-sharp obsidian blades into the breasts of sacrificial victims to remove their hearts in deluded obeisance to the god, Huitzilopochtli.

Nor was there any sign of love when a mother and child were led to the gas chamber during the Holocaust.  There was no evident love when, in 1099, the Crusaders recaptured Jerusalem from Muslim dominion and swept through the streets as a raging torrent of barbaric and indiscriminate slaughter.

No matter, in consolation the ecclesiastical clerisy has assured us that God loved all the victims. Today’s young people question why God remains unseen and never intervenes even when he is so desperately needed.

For its part, the priesthood has always preferred the laity to be ignorant and, consequently, compliant. The obscurantism of these servants of God hindered progress through a process of repression and fear for centuries.

Nicolaus Copernicus, one of the great philosophers of the Renaissance, was a Polish astronomer and the first person to formulate a heliocentric cosmology. His book, On the Revolutions of Celestial Spheres, published just before his death, is often regarded as the starting point of modern astronomy.

He could have published much earlier but was afraid that he would be condemned to death as a heretic by a priesthood that believed unconditionally in the word of the scriptures.  Had not Joshua, after all, commanded and stopped the Sun from moving around the Earth for a period of several hours to provide his army with more daylight?

The cosmos, therefore, was geocentric; there could be no debate.  Some years later, Giordano Bruno, the distinguished Italian mathematician and astronomer, was not so lucky.  Because he held similar views to Copernicus adding that the Sun was actually a star, the holy men drove a metal spike through his tongue before burning him at the stake.

Later still, Galileo, one of the world’s greatest scientists, was hauled before the priesthood and accused of heresy.  Using a telescope of his own invention, he had found conclusive evidence of heliocentrism.

In direct contravention of biblical text and possessing a lesser resolve than Bruno, Galileo recanted, with his tongue stuck firmly in his cheek.  He feigned acceptance when the priests told him he could not have seen what he claimed to have seen, that his eyes had deceived him. He was spared Bruno’s fate and spent the rest of his life under house arrest, ordered to read seven penitential psalms once a week for three years.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, over a period of 125 years, religious wars in Europe between Catholics and Protestants accounted for the loss of over 11 million lives. Even the events of the Holocaust of the 1940s (and a further 6 million deaths) have origins rooted in these times and in the exhortations and inflammatory rhetoric of Protestantism’s foremost priest, Martin Luther.  In the cruelest of all ironies, all of those who died had believed in the love of the same God.

Moreover, is it not baffling that benevolent revelation is invariably claimed by the least influential in society when it should be the preserve of the most powerful?  How much is really being achieved when a vagrant believes he hears God’s voice and becomes a born-again Christian?  As far as we can tell, God never commanded Hitler, Stalin or Pol Pot to be kind to their fellow man nor did he ever appear before Martin Luther to convince him to speak well of the Jews. If God ever appeared as an apparition before despotic leaders, it served only as justification for the atrocities perpetrated in his name.

Another reason for the young to question the authenticity of holy text and God’s existence is that many people they admire have done likewise. Jonathan Edwards, for example, became the world’s greatest triple jumper and one of Britain’s most decorated

The son of a vicar, he spent most of his adult life as a devout Christian. Initially, he even refused to compete on Sundays, his faith costing him a place in the 1991 World Athletics Championships.  He once stated:

“My relationship with Jesus and God is fundamental to everything I do.  I have made a commitment in that relationship to serve God in every area of my life.”

He was a regular presenter of the BBC Christian television show, Songs of Praise, until 2007 when he renounced his faith and his belief in God.  In an interview with The Times, he stated:

“When you think about it rationally, it does seem incredibly improbable that there is a God.”

Countless prominent people agree with him.  Famous atheists from the world of film and theatre include Woody Allen, James Cameron, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Paul Bettany, Emma Thompson and Daniel Radcliffe.

Political atheists of recent times include Roy Hattersley, Neil Kinnock, Ken Livingstone, Michael Portillo, Alastair Campbell, Nick Clegg and the Miliband brothers, David and Ed.  From literature, we have Kingsley Amis, Douglas Adams, Tariq Ali, Ken Follett, Stephen Fry and Graham Greene.

Those from the scientific community include Stephen Hawking, Brian Cox, Richard Dawkins, Francis Crick and David Attenborough whilst well-known names from entertainment and comedy include Billy Connolly, Alan Davies, Eddie Izzard, Ben Elton, Dave Allen, Terry Wogan and Michael Parkinson.

It was the late Dave Allen who famously said:

“I’m an atheist, thank God.”

Earlier unbelievers include some of history’s greatest minds such as Epicurus, Baruch Spinoza, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Andrew Carnegie, David Hume, John Stuart Mill, and Percy Bysshe Shelley and, more recently, Bertrand Russell and Carl Sagan.

All were profound and erudite thinkers whose opinions are worthy of scholarship and available to everyone in our communications age.

It is, of course, possible that God exists but is not omnipotent, omniscient, benevolent and merciful but, if that were the case, why would you call him ‘God’? Even though beliefs in the supernatural cannot be falsified empirically, it seems the time will come when science gains dominion over emotion and God will be consigned to mythology alongside Zeus, whilst the prophets will become regarded as unwitting imposters.

By then, the ecclesiastical clerisy will have joined a long line of deluded holy men and the debate about God’s existence would simply be a philosophical one: “Can God exist if nobody believes in him?” Until then, religion’s influence is likely to decrease exponentially, the decline leading to eventual oblivion.

Read: Mythology: God versus god

______________________

The Bengal-born writer Nazarul Islam is a senior educationist based in USA. He writes for Sindh Courier and the newspapers of Bangladesh, India and America. He is author of a recently published book ‘Chasing Hope’ – a compilation of his articles.

The post Decline of Religion in the West! first appeared on Sindh Courier.

By Nazarul Islam | USA

Modern man is soaked wet in an ocean of intertwined chaos. Futurists and a Researchers of our times in the fields of Pschyohistory, the human psyche and the complexities of human behavior are trying to determine the course of human progress and its direction through the chaos existing in society.

Researchers have come to believe that the state of modern society is in a state of chaos and that this chaos is a result of a fundamental dilemma that plagues modern humans. Many scholars believe this dilemma stems from our collective loss of connection to our own inner selves, as well as to the larger collective unconscious that governs our behavior as a society. The modern world is one that is characterized by rapid technological progress, a constantly changing political landscape, and an increasingly interconnected global community.

While these changes have brought many benefits, they have also led to an erosion of traditional values and a weakening of the social fabric that holds us together. The result is a society that is increasingly fragmented, divided, and alienated from itself. Social scientists believe this dilemma of modern society can be traced back to our disconnection from the deeper aspects of our own psyches.

We have become so focused on the external world, on material success, and on the pursuit of pleasure and entertainment, that we have lost touch with the inner world of the psyche. As a result, we have become alienated from ourselves, from each other, and from the larger world around us. This disconnection from the deeper aspects of our own psyches has led to a number of social problems, including rampant consumerism, addiction, depression, anxiety, and a sense of meaninglessness and purposelessness.

These problems are symptoms of a deeper malaise, one that is rooted in our disconnection from the larger collective unconscious that governs our behavior as a society.

The collective unconscious is a term coined by Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, Dr. Carl Gustav Jung, who has described this as the shared psychic inheritance of humanity. It is a repository of archetypal images and symbols that are common to all humans, regardless of culture or nationality. The collective unconscious is the source of our deepest values, our sense of meaning and purpose, and our sense of connection to something larger than ourselves.

In modern society, we have become disconnected from the collective unconscious. We have lost touch with the deeper values and meanings that once held us together as a society. Instead, we have become focused on individualism, materialism, and consumerism. We have lost our sense of connection to something larger than ourselves, and as a result, we have become alienated from each other and from the world around us.

The result of this disconnection is a society that is increasingly chaotic and fragmented. We see this chaos in the breakdown of traditional values and institutions, in the rise of political extremism and polarization, in the prevalence of addiction and mental illness, and in the growing sense of hopelessness and despair that many people feel.

What is the solution to this dilemma? Social scientists acknowledge that the solution to this mind-breaking chaos is to reconnect with the deeper aspects of our own psyches and with the larger collective unconscious that governs our behavior as a society. This requires a fundamental shift in our values, away from individualism and materialism, and towards a deeper sense of connection and meaning. One way to reconnect with the collective unconscious is through the practice of psychotherapy.

Psychotherapy is a process of self-discovery and self-exploration that can help individuals reconnect with the deeper aspects of their own psyches. Through therapy, individuals can learn to identify and work through the unconscious patterns and behaviors that are holding them back and can develop a deeper sense of connection to their own inner selves. Perhaps, the way to reconnect with the collective unconscious is through the practice of spirituality.

Again, Spirituality involves recognition of something larger than ourselves, whether it be a higher power, a universal consciousness, or the collective unconscious itself. Through spiritual practices such as meditation, prayer, and ritual, individuals can develop a deeper sense of connection to something larger than themselves and can tap into the wisdom and guidance that comes from this connection. In addition to individual practices, there are also larger societal changes that can help us reconnect with the collective unconscious.

These changes involve a shift away from individualism and towards a greater sense of community and connection. This could involve a greater emphasis on social justice and equality, as well as a recognition of the interconnectedness of all beings and the natural world. Ultimately, the solution to the dilemma of modern society requires a fundamental shift in our values and our way of life. We must recognize that our current path is unsustainable and that we must make changes in order to create a more just, equitable, and sustainable society.

This requires a recognition of the deeper aspects of our own psyches and a reconnection with the collective unconscious that governs our behavior as a society. The state of modern society is one of chaos and fragmentation, a result of our collective disconnection from the deeper aspects of our own psyches and the larger collective unconscious that governs our behavior as a society.  The solution to this requires a fundamental shift in our values and our way of life, a reconnection with the deeper aspects of our own psyches, and a recognition of the interconnectedness of all beings and the natural world.

Through these changes, we can create a more just, equitable, and sustainable society that is in harmony with the deeper values and meanings that have guided humanity throughout history. The word “chaos” has two distinct meanings: the everyday usage of disorder and the scientific definition from chaos theory. When applied to society, this scientific perspective offers a framework for understanding how complex, seemingly random social behaviors can emerge from small, deterministic changes.

What really is the scientific definition of chaos? In chaos theory, a system is chaotic not because it is random, but because it is deterministic and highly sensitive to initial conditions. This is famously known as the “butterfly effect”.  Key characteristics include:

Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions

A tiny, unnoticeable change at the beginning of a process can lead to drastically different outcomes later on. Weather is a classic example: small atmospheric shifts make long-term, precise forecasting impossible.

Deterministic Nature

Despite the unpredictable outcomes, a chaotic system’s future state is not random. It is fully determined by its current state according to fixed, underlying rules.

Underlying Patterns: Though a chaotic system’s behavior may appear random, chaos theory shows that it often contains underlying patterns, feedback loops, and self-organizing structures, which can be visualized in geometric forms called “strange attractors”.

How has chaos progressed in society? Applying chaos theory to social systems suggests that society, with its complex web of interactions, is prone to chaotic behavior. While society itself isn’t a single “chaotic system,” various social processes can exhibit chaotic dynamics.

Chaos can progress in society through the following mechanisms: Nonlinear and cascading effects Societies are made of complex, nonlinear systems, meaning causes and effects are not proportional. A minor social change can trigger a series of cascading events that result in disproportionately large-scale consequences.

Example: Social unrest

A single, perceived injustice can ignite a spark of public dissatisfaction. If combined with other structural issues like inequality or economic hardship, that spark can spread through digital communication and group dynamics, rapidly escalating into widespread protests or riots.

Feedback loops are common in social systems, where an action’s output feeds back to become the input for the next action. In a chaotic progression, these loops can become unstable, creating new, self-organizing patterns.

Example: Economic bubbles

In a financial market, positive feedback occurs when rising asset prices encourage more buying, pushing prices even higher. This can create a chaotic, explosive cycle (a bubble) that ultimately organizes itself into a crash, followed by an economic recession.

Example: Political polarization: Algorithms on social media platforms create feedback loops that show users content reinforcing their existing beliefs.

This can push political groups into extreme ideological “bubbles,” leading to increased societal division and political friction.

Systemic fragility: An ordered social system can become fragile over time by developing increasing complexity without a sustainable basis. When a crisis strikes, this fragility can trigger a collapse.

Example: Societal collapse: The fall of civilizations like the Roman Empire or the Maya civilization often involved a cascade of factors, such as environmental degradation, resource depletion, elite overproduction, and social cohesion decay. These factors build up until an unexpected event, like a natural disaster or invasion, precipitates a chaotic, systems-wide collapse.

Disconnection and decay of institutions: A society’s sense of shared identity and purpose, sometimes called the “collective unconscious,” can erode over time through forces like individualism and materialism.

Example: Anomie: The breakdown of traditional institutions, values, and a sense of connection can lead to social fragmentation. As people become alienated from one another, trust decreases, and social bonds weaken.

This creates fertile ground for chaotic, fragmented social phenomena, such as political extremism, addiction, or widespread despair.  Some theorists suggest that societies operate best “at the edge of chaos,” a zone between rigid order and complete randomness.

Stagnation

Too much control and order can lead to stagnation, preventing a society from adapting and innovating. Anarchy: Complete chaos or anarchy, where rules are ignored, leads to the breakdown of order.

Progress

A society can find constructive progress by embracing a degree of chaos—such as through diverse ideas, open dialogue, and adapting to change—while maintaining the institutions that provide structure. This dynamic balance allows for innovation and growth but also carries the risk of descending into destructive disorder.

Some of us like to describe the Chaos theory as a field of study in mathematics; however, it has applications in several disciplines, including sociology and other social sciences. In the social sciences, chaos theory is the study of complex non-linear systems of social complexity. It is not about disorder but rather about very complicated systems of order. Nature, including some instances of social behavior and social systems, is highly complex, and the only prediction you can make is that it is unpredictable.

Chaos theory looks at this unpredictability of nature and tries to make sense of it. Chaos theory aims to find the general order of social systems and particularly social systems that are similar to each other. The assumption here is that the unpredictability in a system can be represented as overall behavior, which gives some amount of predictability, even when the system is unstable.

Chaotic systems are not random systems. They have some kind of order, with an equation that determines overall behavior. The first chaos theorists discovered that complex systems often go through a kind of cycle, even though specific situations are rarely duplicated or repeated.

For example, say there is a city of 10,000 people. In order to accommodate these people, a supermarket is built, two swimming pools are installed, a library is erected, and three churches go up. In this case, these accommodations please everybody and equilibrium are achieved.

Then a company decides to open a factory on the outskirts of town, opening jobs for 10,000 more people. The town then expands to accommodate 20,000 people instead of 10,000. Another supermarket is added, as are two more swimming pools, another library, and three more churches.

The equilibrium is thus maintained. Chaos theorists study this equilibrium, the factors that affect this type of cycle, and what happens (what the outcomes are) when the equilibrium is broken.

What are the features of a Chaotic System? A chaotic system has three simple defining features:

Chaotic systems are deterministic. That is, they have some determining equation ruling their behavior.

Chaotic systems are sensitive to initial conditions. Even a very slight change in the starting point can lead to significantly different outcomes.

Chaotic systems are not random, nor disorderly. Truly random systems are not chaotic. Rather, chaos has a send of order and pattern. Concepts There are several key terms and concepts used in chaos theory:

Butterfly effect (also called sensitivity to initial conditions): The idea that even the slightest change in the starting point can lead to greatly different results or outcomes.

Attractor: Equilibrium within the system. It represents a state to which a system finally settles.

Strange attractor: A dynamic kind of equilibrium which represents some kind of trajectory upon which a system runs from situation to situation without ever settling down.

Applications in Real-Life Chaos theory, which emerged in the 1970s, has impacted several aspects of real-life in its short life thus far and continues to impact all sciences. For instance, it has helped answer previously unsolvable problems in quantum mechanics and cosmology. It has also revolutionized the understanding of heart arrhythmias and brain function.

Read: Mythology: God versus god

_________________

The Bengal-born writer Nazarul Islam is a senior educationist based in USA. He writes for Sindh Courier and the newspapers of Bangladesh, India and America. He is author of a recently published book ‘Chasing Hope’ – a compilation of his articles.

The post Psychology: The Anatomy of Chaos first appeared on Sindh Courier.

By Nazarul Islam | USA

The concept of God has ancient roots and has varied significantly across different cultures and religions. A brief overview of its historical emergence will help us to understand the issue better. Evidence from prehistoric times, cave paintings and burial rituals, has suggested that early humans may have had animistic beliefs, attributing spiritual significance to natural elements.

These beliefs likely did not center around a singular concept of “God” but rather a variety of spirits or forces.

The earliest known organized religions, such as those in ancient Mesopotamia (Sumerians, Akkadians), Egypt, and the Indus Valley, featured polytheistic systems with multiple gods representing various aspects of life (e.g., fertility, war, the harvest).

The Sumerians, around 3000 BCE, were among the earliest to document their pantheon in cuneiform texts.

Monotheism:

The concept of a singular God began to emerge with the development of monotheistic religions. One of the earliest known monotheistic beliefs is attributed to: Akhenaten in ancient Egypt (around 1353-1336 BCE), who worshipped the sun disk Aten as the sole god.

However, the most influential early monotheistic religion is Judaism, which developed around the 2nd millennium BCE, with the worship of Yahweh. The Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) formalizes this belief. The concept of a deity or deities often served to unify communities, establishing shared beliefs and moral codes that fostered social cohesion and order.

Political Authority:

In many ancient societies, rulers claimed divine right or descended from gods to legitimize their authority. This intertwined governance with religious belief, reinforcing power structures. Existential Explanation: Religions often addressed fundamental human questions about existence, purpose, and the afterlife, providing comfort and a framework for understanding the world.

Moral Framework:

Concepts of God also provided ethical guidelines for behavior, establishing norms and laws that governed societal interactions. The concept of God had evolved over millennia, influenced by cultural, social, and political factors. While it began with diverse interpretations across different civilizations, key developments in monotheism, particularly through Judaism, significantly shaped the understanding of God in subsequent religions, including Christianity and Islam.

The intentions behind these beliefs were multifaceted, encompassing social order, political legitimacy, and existential inquiry. Researchers discovered that the first ‘god’ was invented long ago when primitive human beings were still trying to understand why bad things happened every now and then.

A tribe of early humans have established a small settlement on a bend in the river, it’s a good place, plenty to eat and plenty of water. They build some basic shelters and start to store food for the coming winter, then one day something terrible happens – a flood! The river floods and although most of the humans survive, all their shelters and stored food are swept away.

After this tragedy the tribal people had tried to understand what had happened and why it had happened. Around that time, maybe a tribal elder or leader, made a suggestion that as they were storing their food in the shelters that something more powerful than them wanted that food and came and took it! Thus the River God was born.

So the tribe relocated a bit further away from the river and rebuilt their settlement because the location was theirs and too good to move away from, however, each year, around the time that the big flood had come, when they had a lot of food stored, they performed a ceremony. They took some of their food down to the river and threw it into the river, as an offering to the River God in the hope that the God wouldn’t take all their food like the last time.

When no flood came, this ceremony was deemed a success and became a yearly event—thus was born religious dogma. So the first gods were invented to explain natural phenomena that these early humans didn’t understand, gods and religion are basic primitive, superstitious human inventions and it’s time people had grown out of it.

Scholars do not know exactly when, where, or how people first conceived of God, since the concept of a “god” had evolved over millennia, beginning in prehistory. The earliest forms of spiritual belief were likely animism and shamanism, which emerged among nomadic hunter-gatherer societies to explain the mysteries of the natural world.

The evolution of spiritual concepts:

The journey from ancient spiritualism to the modern concept of God was a gradual process reflected in archaeological evidence.

Precursors (300,000–50,000 years ago):

Early rituals among human ancestors, such as Neanderthal burials, suggest an evolving awareness of death and possibly an afterlife. Evidence of pigments like red ochre found at Middle Paleolithic sites suggests the use of symbolic or ritual practices.

Early Upper Paleolithic (50,000–12,000 years ago):

With the rise of modern Homo sapiens, belief systems became more complex.

Animism:

The earliest form of religion, animism, is believed to have originated during this time. This is the belief that all natural objects, places, and creatures possess a spiritual essence.

Shamanism:

This practice involved shamans acting as intermediaries between the human and spirit worlds through altered states of consciousness. The 35,000-year-old ritual complex in Manot Cave, Israel, is one of the earliest examples of communal ritual behavior.

Ritual art:

Cave paintings depicting half-human, half-animal figures, such as the Lion-man of Hohlenstein-Stadel in Germany, are often interpreted as mythical beings related to shamanistic transformations.

Neolithic era (10,000–3,000 BCE):

The shift to agriculture and permanent settlements led to the emergence of more structured religion.

Fertility cults:

With farming becoming central to survival, people began worshiping deities associated with fertility, growth, and the cycle of life and death, often represented by a Mother Goddess.

Megalithic structures:

Sites like Göbekli Tepe in Turkey, dated to approximately 9600 BCE, are believed to be the world’s oldest temples. This monumental architecture built by hunter-gatherers challenges older models that placed organized religion after agriculture.

Ancestor worship:

Burial practices became more elaborate, with the dead sometimes buried with grave goods or skulls preserved in plaster, indicating a belief in a powerful connection between the living and the deceased.

Rise of organized religion (c. 3000 BCE onwards):

With the development of early civilizations in Mesopotamia and Egypt, codified belief systems with specialized priesthoods and temples emerged.

Sumerian polytheism:

The Sumerians of Mesopotamia had a polytheistic system with a pantheon of gods and were one of the first civilizations to incorporate god into their political system.

Monotheism:

The concept of a single, omnipotent God emerged much later, developing from henotheistic traditions (the worship of a single supreme deity without denying the existence of others).

Zoroastrianism, with its focus on the god Ahura Mazda, and ancient Judaism are some of the earliest examples of this evolution toward monotheism.  Why did the concept of God emerge?Academics propose several theories for the development of religious thought based on the cognitive abilities of early humans.

Explaining natural phenomena:

Early humans were confronted with powerful and often terrifying natural events like floods and storms. Creating deities to control these forces was a way to make sense of and attempt to influence their environment.

Symbolism and abstract thought:

Religious thought requires a capacity for abstract thinking. The development of symbolic art and ritual suggests a cognitive leap that made the conception of supernatural beings and ideas possible.

Social cohesion and control:

Religion served as a social mechanism that helped to bond groups together and establish moral codes and norms. In early state societies, this evolved to justify the power of rulers through divine authority. Many complex and deeply personal factors contribute to why people leave their faith, a process often described as “deconstruction” or a crisis of faith. Instead of a single cause, individuals often point to a combination of negative experiences, intellectual questions, and shifting societal values.

Negative experiences and trauma—Abuse and hypocrisy:

High-profile scandals involving sexual abuse within religious institutions, as well as moral failures by prominent leaders, have eroded trust and caused deep-seated pain for many congregants.

Religious trauma:

Harmful practices, such as fear-based teachings about eternal punishment, rigid authoritarianism, or shaming around issues like sexuality, can cause lasting psychological damage known as Religious Trauma Syndrome (RTS).

Lack of support during suffering:

When believers face tragedy, such as the death of a loved one or financial ruin, they may struggle to reconcile their suffering with the theological explanations they were taught. Simplistic explanations can feel invalidating and lead to disillusionment.

Rejection and ostracism: Individuals who question religious doctrine, or who are part of marginalized groups like the LGBTQ+ community, often face rejection from their church and family. For many, leaving is a necessary step to protect their mental and emotional well-being.

Intellectual and personal doubts

Outgrowing their faith:

For some, leaving religion is an intellectual decision driven by new ideas they encounter in college or through exposure to other cultures. The beliefs they were taught as children no longer aligned with their expanding understanding of the world.

Trouble with the Bible:

A growing familiarity with biblical texts can led to difficult questions about moral issues (e.g., slavery, treatment of women) or apparent contradictions. When churches had discouraged these doubts, it created a gap between what an individual experiences and what they are told to believe.

And drifting away:

Many Americans leave religion not because of a single dramatic event, but because they slowly drift away. Life changes like moving or starting a family, combined with a weakening connection to their childhood faith, can lead to their eventual disaffiliation.

What were reasons behind creation of societal systems?

Increased pluralism: Modern societies expose people to a wider range of ideas and worldviews. Exposure to those with different or no religious beliefs can challenge a person’s faith and make them less certain of their own convictions.

Value conflicts:

For many, particularly young people, there is a growing disconnect between their own values and the social or political stances of their religious organizations. Issues concerning gender, sexuality, and politics are often cited as points of conflict.

Consumer Christianity:

A focus on entertaining sermons or superficial religious activities, rather than fostering a deep, personal relationship with the divine, leaves many feeling unfulfilled and seeking greater authenticity.

Many people hold misconceptions about those who leave their religion, often fueled by fear or a lack of understanding. The reasons for deconstructing one’s faith are complex and personal, defying many common stereotypes.

Myth:

Leaving religion means an individual wants to “sin” without guilt. What were the consequences? Reality: For many, the process of deconstruction is a sincere and difficult search for truth and a greater understanding of the world.

Some people found they could no longer reconcile harmful actions committed by religious leaders or institutions with their moral code.The motivation is often driven by a genuine pursuit of authenticity and integrity, not a desire for an “easy path” or hedonistic lifestyle. Leaving can be extremely costly, leading to rejection from family and community.

Non-religious people have no moral compass Reality: Morality does not require a religious framework.

Studies and personal accounts show that non-religious people base their ethics on factors like empathy, humanistic values, philosophical reasoning, and social norms.

For many, leaving an authoritarian religious structure allows them to build a more genuine and compassionate morality based on their own conscience.

8Everyone who leaves religion is angry and hateful Reality: While anger at past trauma, hypocrisy, or abuse is common and valid, it is not the sole emotion.

Many ex-religious people feel relief, curiosity, and excitement about their newfound intellectual and personal freedom.

For those who do express anger, it is often directed at the harmful actions of religious people or institutions, not at the idea of religion itself.

Those who leave were never “true believers” in the first place Reality: This misconception dismisses the profound spiritual experiences and sincere faith many deconstructing people have had.

Many who question their faith were among the most committed members of their congregation.

In fact, a deep, honest approach to faith and theology can be what leads a person to start questioning in the first place, rather than superficiality.

Leaving religion means a loss of purpose

Reality: While the transition can be disorienting, people often build new meaning in their lives. Many find purpose in family, community service, philosophical inquiry, or a new spiritual path. They may discover that their purpose was never dependent on a single belief system but on their own intrinsic values and actions.

Deconstruction is the same as deconversion Reality: Deconversion, or losing faith, is only one possible outcome of the deconstruction process.

Deconstruction is best understood as a process of examining and reevaluating one’s beliefs. It can lead to a variety of outcomes, including a more progressive, robust, or reconstructed faith. Some individuals may leave one faith tradition for another, while others may retain a strong spiritual identity without belonging to a formal religious institution.

Read: Black Plague—Was it God’s Punishment?

___________________

The Bengal-born writer Nazarul Islam is a senior educationist based in USA. He writes for Sindh Courier and the newspapers of Bangladesh, India and America. He is author of a recently published book ‘Chasing Hope’ – a compilation of his articles.

The post Mythology: God versus god first appeared on Sindh Courier.

By Nazarul Islam | USA

The recent pandemic ‘Covid-19’ invaded our world in 2020. It was caused by an infectious disease which had quickly transformed into a catastrophe. It spread across the globe, taking away the lives of more than 7.0 million people.

Pandemics have repeated several times in recorded history. Between 1347 and 1352, a massive plague spread had across Europe, claiming the lives of nearly half its population.

Scientists at Public Health England in Porton Down, have argued that for the Black Death to have spread so quickly and killed so many victims with such devastating speed, it must have been airborne.

Therefore, rather than bubonic plague, which is transmitted to humans through bites from infected rat fleas and then can be transmitted between humans, according to some research they concluded this must have been a pneumonic plague that made its way into the lungs of the infected and spread through coughs and sneezes.

In most of the cities, the model that focused on fleas and ticks on humans was the most accurate model for explaining the spread of the disease. Though it may come as a surprise to most readers, previous studies have backed up these findings. The consensus seems to be that the plague spread too fast for rats to be the culprit carriers.

“It would be unlikely to spread as fast as it did if it was transmitted by rats,” Nils Stenseth, a professor at the University of Oslo and his co-author of the study, told BBC News. “It would have to go through this extra loop of the rats, rather than being spread from person to person.”

It’s not clear where the belief that rats spread the plague had come from, in the first place.

After all, the researchers write that “there is little historical and archaeological support for such a claim.” For example, if rats really were a main cause of the plague, there would be more archaeological evidence of dead rats.

Analysis registered in the medieval City of London has shown that 60 percent of Londoners were wiped out by the Black Death from the autumn of 1348 to spring of 1349. A comparable rate of destruction would today kill some 5 million people. According to Dr. Tim Brooks from Porton Down, transmission by rat fleas as an explanation for the Black Death “simply isn’t good enough.

The disease cannot spread fast enough from one household to the next to cause the huge number of cases that we saw during the Black Death epidemics.”

Archaeological analysis of the bones found under city of London’s Charterhouse Square also revealed that the individuals buried there were mostly poor people who had suffered from general ill health. Rickets, anemia and tooth decay were common, as well as childhood malnutrition, which was consistent with the “Great Famine” that struck Europe some 30 years before the plague. Many of the skeletons showed back damage, suggesting lives marked by hard physical labor.

Another interesting finding was that the remains in the square appeared to come from three different periods: not only from the original Black Death epidemic in 1348-1350, but from later outbreaks in 1361 and the 1430s. While the early burials at the site are orderly, including white shrouds around the skeletons, the ones from the 1430s show evidence of upper-body injuries, consistent with what appears to have been a time of increasing lawlessness and social chaos.

Traveling back in time, Six hundred years ago, in the era of history known as the early-modern period, most people had lived through the ‘plague’. In fact, they had experienced it more than once. The threat of plague was one of the defining characteristics of life in medieval and early-modern Europe.

Sometimes plague outbreaks were widespread. Others affected only particular cities. In London, the Great Plague of 1665-1666 was the worst plague outbreak since the Black Death. Around 15% of the population had died.

What was it like to live through a plague? What did people know about the disease, and how did they respond?

The Diary of Samuel Pepys, a statesman and naval administrator, provides some answers. Over an 8 month period, his diary gives us a day-by-day eyewitness account of how the plague unfolded.

Life during the bubonic plague was a time of overwhelming fear, societal collapse, and bizarre new customs as medieval people struggled to comprehend and survive the mass death surrounding them. Without a scientific understanding of disease, people attributed the plague to divine wrath, bad air, or supernatural forces. The resulting terror upended daily routines and social structures.

Fear, abandonment and societal collapse:

Deep-seated panic: The sudden and gruesome symptoms—including painful, swollen lymph nodes called buboes—sent people into a panic. Italian writer Giovanni Boccaccio recorded how families abandoned the sick, with parents leaving their children and spouses fleeing one another.

Desperate reactions: The overwhelming sense of impending death led to varied and extreme behaviors. Some turned to frenzied religious atonement, with groups of flagellants whipping themselves in public processions. Others turned to hedonism, deciding to eat, drink, and be merry while they still could.

Disintegration of public services: As the death toll rose, basic services broke down. Priests died ministering to the sick, leading to a shortage of clergy. In many cities, bodies piled up in the streets because there were not enough people left to move them, forcing hastily dug mass graves.

Scapegoating and persecution: In their desperation to find an explanation, some communities blamed marginalized groups for the disease. Jews were falsely accused of poisoning wells, leading to horrific massacres in cities across Europe.

Ineffective medicine and public health:

Erroneous medical beliefs: Medieval physicians had no effective treatments and operated under the misconception that the plague was caused by “miasma” or bad air. Their remedies, often crude and unsanitary, were based on the unproven theory of the four humors.

Common “cures”: Popular but dangerous treatments included bloodletting with leeches, lancing the buboes, and applying poultices of herbs, animal parts, or even human waste.

Early public health measures:

Authorities in Italian cities like Venice and Milan were among the first to implement large-scale public health policies. This included:

Quarantine: Ships were forced to wait outside harbors for 40 days before disembarking—the origin of the word “quarantine”.

Isolation: The sick were isolated in separate facilities called “lazarettos,” providing care while containing the disease.

Social distancing: In some places, goods were passed via a lazy Susan-like device to avoid person-to-person contact, and money was washed in vinegar.

Survivors then had faced a new and changed world:

Economic upheaval: With 30% to 60% of Europe’s population dead, a massive labor shortage ensued. This collapse of the feudal system gave surviving peasants and artisans new bargaining power for better wages and living conditions.

Increased social mobility: The high mortality rate meant that land and inherited wealth became more available. This new mobility weakened traditional social hierarchies and created opportunities for some to rise in status.

Morbid art and literature: The constant presence of death deeply influenced culture. Artistic themes shifted to grim topics, notably the Danse Macabre, which depicted skeletons dancing with people from all walks of life to show that no one could escape death.

Seeds of change: The plague’s immense devastation led people to question the traditional authorities of the church and existing medical knowledge. For some, this questioning became an intellectual and artistic awakening that set the stage for the Renaissance.

Most of us have heard of the Black Death that ravaged Medieval Europe. However, less well known is the fact that the bubonic plague returned again and again in history of mankind.

After construction workers digging tunnels for the new Crossrail train line in 2013 discovered some 25 skeletons buried under Charterhouse Square in the Clerkenwell area of London, scientists immediately suspected they had stumbled on a plague cemetery.

The square, once home to a monastery, is one of the few London areas that have remained undisturbed for hundreds of years, and the location outside the walls of medieval London coincided with historical accounts. To test this theory, scientists extracted DNA from one of the largest teeth in each of 12 skeletons. Testing showed evidence of Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes the plague, which confirmed that the individuals buried underneath the square had likely been exposed to—and died from—the Black Death.

The plague still infects several thousand people every year around the world, though most patients recover if treated early enough with antibiotics. When they compared the strain of plague preserved in this medieval DNA with the strain that killed some 60 people in Madagascar in 2014, however, they found something surprising. The medieval strain was no stronger than the recent one; in fact, their genetic codes matched almost exactly.

Today, scientists understand that the Black Death, now known as the plague, is spread by a bacillus called Yersinia pestis. (The French biologist Alexandre Yersin discovered this germ at the end of the 19th century.)

They know that the bacillus travels from person to person through the air, as well as through the bite of infected fleas and rats. Both of these pests could be found almost everywhere in medieval Europe, but they were particularly at home aboard ships of all kinds—which is how the deadly plague made its way through one European port city after another.

Not long after it struck Messina, the Black Death spread to the port of Marseilles in France and the port of Tunis in North Africa. Then it reached Rome and Florence, two cities at the center of an elaborate web of trade routes. By the middle of 1348, the Black Death had struck Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon and London.

Today, this grim sequence of events is terrifying but comprehensible. In the middle of the 14th century, however, there seemed to be no rational explanation for it.

No one knew exactly how the Black Death was transmitted from one patient to another, and no one knew how to prevent or treat it. According to one doctor, for example, “instantaneous death occurs when the aerial spirit escaping from the eyes of the sick man strikes the healthy person standing near and looking at the sick.”

How did the citizens treat the Black Death?

Physicians had relied on crude and unsophisticated techniques such as bloodletting and boil-lancing (practices that were dangerous as well as unsanitary) and superstitious practices such as burning aromatic herbs and bathing in rosewater or vinegar.

Meanwhile, in a panic, healthy people did all they could to avoid the sick. Doctors refused to see patients; priests refused to administer last rites; and shopkeepers closed their stores. Many people fled the cities for the countryside, but even there they could not escape the disease: It affected cows, sheep, goats, pigs and chickens as well as people.

In fact, so many sheep had died that one of the consequences of the Black Death was a European wool shortage. And many people, desperate to save themselves, even abandoned their sick and dying loved ones. “Thus doing,” Boccaccio wrote, “each thought to secure immunity for himself.”

Black Plague:  Was it truly, God’s Punishment?

Because the people did not understand the biology of the disease, many people believed that the Black Death was a kind of divine punishment—retribution for sins against God such as greed, blasphemy, heresy, fornication and worldliness.

By this logic, the only way to overcome the plague was to win God’s forgiveness. Some people believed that the way to do this was to purge their communities of heretics and other troublemakers—so, for example, many thousands of Jews were massacred in 1348 and 1349. (Thousands more fled to the sparsely populated regions of Eastern Europe, where they could be relatively safe from the rampaging mobs in the cities.)

Some people coped with the terror and uncertainty of the Black Death epidemic by lashing out at their neighbors; others coped by turning inward and fretting about the condition of their own souls.

Flagellants

Some upper-class men joined processions of flagellants that traveled from town to town and engaged in public displays of penance and punishment: They would beat themselves and one another with heavy leather straps studded with sharp pieces of metal while the townspeople looked on.

For 33 days, the flagellants repeated this ritual three times a day. Then they would move on to the next town and begin the process over again.

Though the flagellant movement did provide some comfort to people who felt powerless in the face of inexplicable tragedy, it soon began to worry the Pope, whose authority the flagellants had begun to usurp. In the face of this papal resistance, the movement disintegrated.

How Did the Black Death End?

The plague never really ended and it returned with a vengeance years later. But officials in the port city of Ragusa were able to slow its spread by keeping arriving sailors in isolation until it was clear they were not carrying the disease—creating social distancing that relied on isolation to slow the spread of the disease.

The sailors were initially held on their ships for 30 days (a trentino), a period that was later increased to 40 days, or a quarantine—the origin of the term “quarantine” and a practice still used today.

Does the Black Plague Still Exist?

The Black Death epidemic had run its course by the early 1350s, but the plague reappeared every few generations for centuries. Modern sanitation and public-health practices have greatly mitigated the impact of the disease but have not eliminated it.

While antibiotics are available today to treat the Black Death, according to The World Health Organization, there are still 1,000 to 3,000 cases of plague every year.

Read: Vision of learning, fifty years later

_________________

The Bengal-born writer Nazarul Islam is a senior educationist based in USA. He writes for Sindh Courier and the newspapers of Bangladesh, India and America. He is author of a recently published book ‘Chasing Hope’ – a compilation of his articles.

The post Black Plague—Was it God’s Punishment? first appeared on Sindh Courier.

• People who achieve extreme longevity are still rare enough that they represent a select population
• Scientists and demographers hold different views on whether there is a maximum limit to human life.

By Nazarul Islam | USA

There is no definitive maximum human lifespan, but the longest verified life is 122 years. While the average lifespan has increased dramatically over the last century, experts debate whether there is a fixed biological limit to how long humans can live.

The longest verified human lifespan belongs to Jeanne Calment of France, who lived to be 122 years and 164 days old before her death in 1997.For men, the record is held by Jiroemon Kimura of Japan, who lived to be 116 years old. As of 2022, the average global life expectancy was 72 years, a significant increase from just 32 years in 1900.

Scientists and demographers hold different views on whether there is a maximum limit to human life.

Recent research has identified a “physiological tipping point” where the body’s resilience—its ability to recover from illness or injury—naturally declines. This gradual loss of resilience suggests a practical ceiling on lifespan, with some studies estimating it may fall between 120 and 150 years.

While an aging person’s risk of death grows each year, the rate of increase begins to flatten after age 110. This makes it a “numbers game” where a small number of people reach extreme old age, but the overall maximum remains relatively steady.

The fact that Calment’s record has stood for decades, despite an increase in the number of centenarians, is cited by some as evidence that an upper limit exists.

Other researchers argue there is no biological evidence for a fixed limit to human lifespan. They believe that with a large enough population and enough supercentenarians, someone will eventually break the current record.

Again, some models have predicted a near 100% probability that someone will live past 122 years by the end of the 21st century, with a 13% chance of reaching 130 years.

Experts have also contended that the lack of rigorous, age-appropriate medical care for the very old prevents lifespans from extending further. If supercentenarians received the same level of care as younger adults, they could live longer.

A person’s lifespan is influenced by a combination of genetics, lifestyle, and environmental factors. Lifestyle choices, in particular, are considered the most significant factors that individuals can control.

While genes can predispose an individual to certain diseases or affect the aging process, they account for less than 10% of the variation in lifespan. Lifestyle and environmental factors play a larger role.

A balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats is linked to a longer life. Diets like the Mediterranean diet have shown significant benefits.

Regular physical activity can also reduce the risk of chronic diseases and improve health, even for older adults.

Getting 7–9 hours of restorative sleep per night is crucial for physical and mental health. Chronic stress can accelerate aging. Techniques like meditation can help mitigate its effects.

Avoiding tobacco use is one of the most effective ways to increase longevity. Access to quality medical care, clean air and water, and favorable socioeconomic conditions are all crucial for a longer life.

Every generation has asked the same question: What is the longest a human can live? Some believed the answer was hidden in genetics, others in strict diets or meditation practices. But modern science has finally taken a deep look at the body’s inner workings.

By analyzing thousands of blood tests and activity patterns from wearable devices, researchers may have discovered a surprising clue. The finding doesn’t just talk about diseases or healthy habits, it points toward something far more fundamental.

The average years people live, has been steadily increasing worldwide thanks to better medicine, nutrition, and hygiene. But lifespan, the maximum years a human body can survive, seems to have a natural ceiling. Despite advances, no one lives forever, and almost no one crosses beyond a certain threshold.

A new research suggests that biology itself sets this upper boundary.

To understand ageing, scientists built a tool called the Dynamic Organism State Indicator (DOSI). It measures how the body responds to stress using blood test data and movement patterns. Unlike counting birthdays, DOSI tells how quickly a body can recover from every day wear and tear.

Over time, DOSI shows a clear trend: recovery slows as people age, pointing toward an eventual limit. This discovery may help predict health decline, guide anti-ageing therapies, and reshape how longevity and human biological resilience are understood globally.

Resilience is the hidden currency of life. It is the body’s power to heal, recover, and adapt to stress. In youth, this recovery is quick and efficient, and you bounce back faster. With age, resilience weakens, much like a fading spring losing its bounce. According to the study, the tipping point comes when resilience is fully lost. At that stage, survival becomes impossible even without a specific illness.

Though the research estimates humans could live up to 120-150 years, very few come close. Chronic illnesses, stress, smoking, poor diet, and environmental challenges chip away at resilience much earlier. The study showed that certain harmful effects, like smoking, can sometimes be reversed if stopped in time, giving resilience a chance to repair itself.

Modern day lifestyles are filled with hidden risks: pollution, processed foods, and constant stress. These not only shorten life but also reduce healthspan, the years lived in good health. The study highlights the importance of protecting resilience, not just avoiding diseases.

Small choices, rest, recovery, movement, and avoiding harmful habits, can make the journey toward older age smoother, even if they cannot extend the biological maximum. The number of people who live past the age of 100 has been on the rise for decades, up to nearly half a million people worldwide.

There are, however, far fewer “supercentenarians”—people who live to age 110 or even longer. The oldest living person, Jeanne Calment of France, was 122 when she died in 1997; currently, the world’s oldest person is 118-year-old Kane Tanaka of Japan.

Such extreme longevity, according to new research by the University of Washington, likely will continue to rise slowly by the end of this century, and estimates show that a lifespan of 125 years, or even 130 years, is possible.

“People are fascinated by the extremes of humanity, whether it’s going to the moon, how fast someone can run in the Olympics, or even how long someone can live,” said lead author Michael Pearce, a UW doctoral student in statistics. “With this work, we quantify how likely we believe it is that some individual will reach various extreme ages this century.”

Longevity has ramifications for government and economic policies, as well as individuals’ own health care and lifestyle decisions, rendering what’s probable, or even possible, relevant at all levels of society.

The new study, published in Demographic Research, uses statistical modeling to examine the extremes of human life. With ongoing research into aging, the prospects of future medical and scientific discoveries and the relatively small number of people to have verifiably reached age 110 or older, experts have debated the possible limits to what is referred to as the maximum reported age at death.

While some scientists argue that disease and basic cell deterioration lead to a natural limit on human lifespan, others maintain there is no cap, as evidenced by record-breaking supercentenarians.

Pearce and Adrian Raftery, a professor of sociology and of statistics at the UW, took a different approach. They asked what the longest individual human lifespan could be anywhere in the world by the year 2100.

Using Bayesian statistics, a common tool in modern statistics the researchers estimated that the world record of 122 years almost certainly will be broken, with a strong likelihood of at least one person living to anywhere between 125 and 132 years.

To calculate the probability of living past 110 — and to what age — Raftery and Pearce turned to the most recent iteration of the International Database on Longevity, created by the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research. That database tracks supercentenarians from 10 European countries, plus Canada, Japan and the United States.

Using a Bayesian approach to estimate probability, the UW team created projections for the maximum reported age at death in all 13 countries from 2020 through 2100.

Major findings included:

Researchers estimated near 100% probability that the current record of maximum reported age at death — Calment’s 122 years, 164 days — will be broken;

The probability remains strong of a person living longer, to 124 years old (99% probability) and even to 127 years old (68% probability);

An even longer lifespan is possible but much less likely, with a 13% probability of someone living to age 130;

It is “extremely unlikely” that someone would live to 135 in this century.

As it is, supercentenarians are outliers, and the likelihood of breaking the current age record increases only if the number of supercentenarians grows significantly. With a continually expanding global population, that’s not impossible, researchers say.

People who achieve extreme longevity are still rare enough that they represent a select population, Raftery said. Even with population growth and advances in health care, there is a flattening of the mortality rate after a certain age. In other words, someone who lives to be 110 has about the same probability of living another year as, say, someone who lives to 114, which is about one-half.

“It doesn’t matter how old they are, once they reach 110, they still die at the same rate,” Raftery said. “They’ve gotten past all the various things life throws at you, such as disease. They die for reasons that are somewhat independent of what affects younger people.

“This is a very select group of very robust people.”

Read: Questioning the Concepts of Cosmology

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The Bengal-born writer Nazarul Islam is a senior educationist based in USA. He writes for Sindh Courier and the newspapers of Bangladesh, India and America. He is author of a recently published book ‘Chasing Hope’ – a compilation of his articles.

The post Our quest for a longer life span first appeared on Sindh Courier.

By Abdullah Usman Morai

In the age of rapid digital evolution and boundless curiosity about who we are, DNA heritage testing has emerged as a groundbreaking tool—one that weaves together threads of science, personal identity, and global kinship. What once required years of genealogical research and family lore can now be uncovered with a simple saliva sample. But the revelations are anything but simple. From unexpected ancestry to previously unknown relatives, these tests are redefining not only individual lives but also the very fabric of what we call “family.”

This article journeys through the deeply personal and profoundly societal impacts of DNA heritage testing, unraveling its technological foundations, ethical questions, and cultural consequences. It’s a story not just of chromosomes, but of connection.

Personal Identity and Ancestral Discovery

For many, a DNA test begins as a casual interest—an online kit bought during a sale or gifted on a birthday. But the results often hold emotional weight. Learning that one’s ancestry includes unexpected regions or ethnic groups can shift an individual’s understanding of their identity.

Take, for example, a person who grew up identifying as purely European, only to discover Sub-Saharan African roots. Or someone who believed they were of South Asian descent but found genetic ties to Central Asia, Eastern Europe, or even Indigenous American communities. These revelations can inspire pride, provoke introspection, and sometimes spark cultural exploration or even spiritual journeys.

In many cases, the results bring long-lost stories to light—about migrations, wars, love, exile, and resilience. They fill gaps left by incomplete family records, oral histories, or adoptions. For some, this becomes an emotional journey toward closure or reconnection.

Case Study: Laura Martinez (USA)

Laura, a journalist from Maryland, grew up believing she was fully Ashkenazi Jewish. But a DNA test revealed 25% Scottish ancestry. The twist? Her grandfather had been secretly adopted. Her identity, once centered on a singular culture, now included a lineage she had never imagined.

Case Study: Maya Thomas (USA)

Maya, an African-American teacher from Georgia, took a test to explore her African roots. She was stunned to discover she was a direct descendant of Irish settlers from the 1700s. The revelation uncovered a complicated legacy of slavery and interracial relationships, offering both pain and pride in equal measure.

Global Connections and Family Networks

One of the most dramatic aspects of DNA testing is its ability to reveal living relatives across the world. Siblings separated at birth, cousins unknown to each other, or entire family branches lost due to migration, war, or secrecy—can now be rediscovered through shared genetic markers.

Online platforms like AncestryDNA, 23andMe, and MyHeritage offer not just ancestry breakdowns, but also family matching features. Countless stories have emerged of people finding biological parents, half-siblings, or grandchildren they never knew existed.

Such discoveries can lead to joyful reunions—but also complex emotional landscapes. The joy of newfound kin can be tempered by questions, regrets, or secrets long buried. Still, for many, the experience is one of healing—a chance to expand the definition of family and rewrite their personal history.

Case Study: Alex Nguyen (USA & Vietnam)

Alex, born and raised in Texas, never knew his father. After submitting his DNA, he matched with cousins in Vietnam and learned his father had worked as a U.S. military translator during the Vietnam War. They reunited after nearly 40 years apart.

Case Study: Emma Grant (UK & Nigeria)

Emma, raised in London, always assumed she was fully British. A DNA test revealed 40% Nigerian ancestry. A difficult conversation with her mother confirmed her biological father had been a Nigerian exchange student. Eventually, she connected with a half-brother in Lagos through shared DNA, bridging a gap she never knew existed.

Case Study: Sofia Lindström (Sweden & South Korea)

Sofia, adopted from South Korea and raised in Sweden, matched with an aunt in Busan via 23andMe. Her relatives had long believed she died in infancy. The eventual reunion with her biological parents was joyful and heartbreaking, highlighting the deep emotional power of genetic connections.

Technological Advancements in Genetic Genealogy

The science behind DNA heritage testing is astonishing. These tests analyze hundreds of thousands of genetic markers to estimate an individual’s ancestral makeup, often across more than 1,500 global regions. Advanced algorithms compare this data with massive DNA databases, identifying not just geographic origins but potential relatives.

Over the past decade, these tools have become increasingly precise. Updates are regularly pushed as more people submit their data, improving accuracy and revealing finer-grained ancestry detail. Some services now offer health-related genetic insights, helping individuals understand inherited risks for conditions like cancer or heart disease.

Behind the scenes, the work of geneticists, data scientists, and historians converges to build the complex maps that tell us who we are—and where we come from.

Privacy, Ethics, and Data Security

With great insight comes great responsibility. DNA is the most intimate data one can share, and its use raises pressing ethical questions. Who owns your genetic information? How is it stored? Who can access it?

Concerns about third-party access, particularly by law enforcement or corporations, have sparked debates about consent and transparency. Some services have cooperated with criminal investigations (famously helping to catch the Golden State Killer), while others have tightened privacy policies in response to backlash.

Furthermore, sharing your DNA may inadvertently expose family members’ secrets, such as infidelity, unacknowledged children, or undisclosed adoptions. Ethical dilemmas arise when people find truths that others wanted buried.

It’s crucial that individuals understand the terms of service, privacy policies, and data-sharing permissions before submitting their DNA. Genetic counselors are increasingly being consulted to help interpret and emotionally process results.

Case Study: Daniel Cohen (Israel & USA)

Daniel, an Israeli-born man, matched with a twin brother raised in New York. They had been separated at birth due to a hospital error. While the reunion was beautiful, it also exposed troubling gaps in adoption policies and raised questions about hospital accountability and transparency.

Platforms now allow users to opt in or out of law enforcement matching and research data sharing. But many users don’t read the fine print, highlighting the need for greater awareness and regulation.

Cultural and Societal Implications

The ripple effects of DNA testing go beyond the individual. Entire communities are reconsidering how they define belonging. In some cases, people have used DNA evidence to reclaim cultural heritage that was erased through colonization or forced assimilation.

There are also legal ramifications. In certain countries, ancestry may impact citizenship claims, tribal membership, or inheritance rights. However, cultural identity is not merely genetic—it’s shaped by language, tradition, and lived experience. The challenge lies in balancing biological heritage with cultural context.

In multicultural societies, DNA testing can either reinforce diversity or challenge long-held identities. It encourages a more nuanced view of race, nationality, and ethnicity, reminding us that human history is a story of movement, mixing, and migration.

Case Study: Maya Revisited

After discovering her Irish noble ancestry, Maya considered applying for dual citizenship in Ireland. However, some critics questioned her claim to Irish identity based solely on DNA. The experience highlighted the tension between genetic heritage and cultural belonging, reminding us that ancestry is only part of the story.

Tribal nations, for example, often reject DNA as the sole criterion for membership, emphasizing shared language, culture, and history over genetics.

Conclusion

DNA heritage testing is not just a scientific breakthrough—it’s a mirror reflecting who we are and where we came from. It breaks open locked doors in personal histories, builds bridges across continents, and stitches new patterns into the fabric of our global family.

But with each revelation comes responsibility. The power to know must be paired with the wisdom to understand and respect the impact of that knowledge. As the technology evolves, so must our conversations about identity, privacy, ethics, and empathy.

In the end, DNA testing offers something profoundly human: the chance to connect, not just to our past, but to each other. In every drop of blood, a story waits to be told. And perhaps, in telling those stories, we find ourselves a little more whole.

Note: All names in case studies have been changed to protect individual privacy. Stories are based on real-life accounts reported by reputable sources such as USA Today, ABC News, BBC, and Ancestry user stories.

Read: Empowerment and Employment in Pakistan

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Abdullah Soomro, penname Abdullah Usman Morai, hailing from Moro town of Sindh, province of Pakistan, is based in Stockholm Sweden. Currently he is working as Groundwater Engineer in Stockholm Sweden. He did BE (Agriculture) from Sindh Agriculture University Tando Jam and MSc water systems technology from KTH Stockholm Sweden as well as MSc Management from Stockholm University. Beside this he also did masters in journalism and economics from Shah Abdul Latif University Khairpur Mirs, Sindh. He is author of a travelogue book named ‘Musafatoon’. His second book is in process. He writes articles from time to time. A frequent traveler, he also does podcast on YouTube with channel name: VASJE Podcast.

The post DNA: From Genes to Journeys first appeared on Sindh Courier.

Prof. Dr. Nazeer Ahmed     

The Aftermath of the Mu’tazalite Eruption

What is significant is that the initial challenge to the Mu’tazalites did not originate from within their own ranks but from the orthodox ulema. The triumph of the usuli schools ensured the pre-eminence of the orthodox religious elements in the spectrum of Islamic knowledge. It also made the pursuit of philosophy suspect in the minds of the masses and relegated it to the elite and the rulers. Philosophy continued but only as a side show to the primary focus of Islamic civilization on the religious sciences of fiqh (800-850 CE), hadith (800-950 CE) and tasawwuf (1100-1700 CE). In the centuries to come, those who continued to pursue philosophy and science had to look over their shoulders to guard their flank from the religious right. Philosophy and science both suffered.

The crux of the issue was a failure to understand the limits of each branch of knowledge. Philosophy is no exception of this rule. Each branch of knowledge searches for the truth but the ultimate Truth eludes certainty. God is the Truth (Allahu Haqq; haqq Allah). In other words, the essence of the Truth transcends space-time. Indeed, it transcends human comprehension. This uncertainty principle is stated in different ways by the physicists, the mathematicians, the philosophers and people of faith. The error of the Mu’tazalites was to express this uncertainty principle through logic, in space-time. The error of the usuli ulema was to reject philosophy along with the positions taken by the philosophers. It was literally the case of “throwing out the baby with the bath water”.

The aftermath of the Mu’tazalite convulsions influenced the development of natural sciences in the Islamic world in a profound way. The Islamic world moved away from the speculative philosophies of the Greeks to the empirical sciences more in tune with the injunctions of the Qur’an. An explanation is in order here. Although generalizations are facile, it can nonetheless be asserted that the primary thrust of Greek philosophy is deductive. It is “top down”. It starts with axioms and proceeds downwards towards deductions and conclusions. The assumptions inherent in the axioms become the limits for the deductions and conclusions. In this process, errors of judgment are made, as did the Mu’tazalites in their speculations about the origins of the Qur’an. By contrast, the empirical sciences are inductive. They are “bottoms up” and are based on observation, measurement, codification and extension. The Qur’an draws attention, time and again, to the many signs in nature and invites humankind to interact with and learn from these signs. In the empirical approach, reason becomes a servant of knowledge, not its autocratic ruler. The limits of reason are recognized and built into the edifice of knowledge as it is constructed from observations and measurements. Thus, a scientist has his feet on the ground while reaching out to the heavens with reason. A philosopher, on the other hand, has his head in the sky but his feet may or may not touch the ground and he may be left dangling between the heavens and the earth.

The classical Islamic civilization that emerged in the post-Mu’tazalite period was scientific-empirical. Indeed, the Muslims were arguably the originators of the empirical method.  They took the pursuit of natural sciences away from the speculative philosophies of the Greeks to the experimental, practical sciences based on observation.  The Muslims had learned the art of paper making from the Chinese after the Battle of Tlas (751 CE). Paper mills sprang up in the major cities, facilitating the transcription and publication of books. Princes, noblemen and the rich vied with each other to establish libraries. The brilliance of this civilization can be gauged from the breadth and depth of its lasting contributions. For more than five hundred years (700-1258 CE), Muslim scientists were the torch bearers of knowledge, advancing human civilization with their discoveries and inventions. It was this light that awakened Europe from its slumber in the dark ages (600-1100 CE).  The contributions of some of the eminent scientists of the Islamic Golden Age are summarily highlighted here.

Jabir Ibn-Haiyan (d 815) is known as the father of empirical chemistry. He was the first to use the process of distillation and to attempt a mathematical classification of pure elements based on their known characteristics. His work contains a detailed description of fractional distillation, solubility and volatility of compounds as well as alloying, purification and testing of metals

Al Khwarizmi (d 850), was a celebrated mathematician, astronomer and geographer. He was the inventor of algebra. His method of solving quadratic equations presaged the development of algorithms, widely used in modern software development. He was the first one to use the decimal system and to introduce the Hindu-Arabic numerals into mathematics.

Al Kindi (d 870) was a philosopher who wrote extensively on Aristotle and made noteworthy contributions not only to philosophy but also to mathematics, psychology, ethics and cosmology.

Al Razi (d 925) was an outstanding physician and chemist. He is known as the father of clinical medicine. He is best remembered for his pioneering work on smallpox, measles and other contagious diseases. His voluminous works on surgery and therapy influenced the development of medicine in Latin Europe and were required reading in European universities until the eighteenth century.

Al Battani (d 928) was a noted mathematician and empirical astronomer who influenced the works of Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo. He introduced trigonometric functions into geometry, calculated the precession of the equinoxes and the obliquity of the ecliptic. His measurements on the positions of the sun and moon were more accurate than those made by Copernicus some six centuries later.

Al-Farabi (d 950) applied Aristotelian philosophy to political science, ethics and logic. He sought to bring science, politics and ethics out of the fuzziness of symbolism into the concrete world of logic and reason.  He was thus the first political scientist. The comprehensiveness of his encyclopedic works earned him the title of “the second teacher” after Aristotle and he influenced the later works of the giants among philosophers such as Ibn Sina and Maimonedes.

Al Masudi (d 956) was the first to integrate history with empirical geography. His travels took him far and wide to Egypt, Arabia, East Africa, India, Sri Lanka, Armenia, Azerbaijan and the Caspian Sea. He documented his observations of the lands he visited in his masterpiece, Muruj adh-dhahab wa ma’adin al-jawahar (The Meadows of Gold and Mines of Gems).

Al Buzjani (d 997) was a distinguished applied mathematician. He was the first to introduce the use of secants and cosecants in geometry. He constructed a comprehensive table of sines and tangents, made a detailed study of the inter-relationship between trigonometric functions and used this knowledge to solve difficult geometrical problems using conics. Modern trigonometry rests on a foundation built by Al Buzjani.

Ibn Sina (1037) was the most celebrated physician of the Islamic Golden Age. His masterpiece work, the Canons of Medicine, was the standard textbook in Europe until the seventeenth century. One of the most significant thinkers of the era, his influence extended to philosophy, psychology, chemistry, logic, earth sciences, astronomy and the philosophy of science.

Ibn al Haitham (d 1040) is celebrated as the father of modern optics. He was the first to recognize that light is perceived by reflection rather than emanating from the eyes, as the Greeks had assumed. He correctly formulated the laws of reflection, studied refraction, the formation of rainbows, lunar and solar eclipses and invented the camera obscura. His work influenced Roger Bacon (1292) of England and the celebrated German astronomer Johannes Kepler (d 1630).

Al Baruni (d 1052) was a celebrated historian whose encyclopedic work on the sciences, civilization and culture of India set a benchmark for empirical anthropological documentation. He was also a mathematician of the first rank as well as a noted astronomer, natural philosopher, geographer and geologist.

Omar Khayyam (d 1131), poet, mathematician and astronomer, left his mark on the sciences with his contributions to the Jalali calendar introduced by the Seljuq Sultan Malik Shah. This calendar was more precise than the Julian calendar used in the modern world. Omar Khayyam developed a method of extracting roots of whole numbers and influenced the development of irrational numbers by European mathematicians. Through the translations of his Rubayiat, he is celebrated as a poet the world over.

Al Idrisi (d 1165) was a geographer and historian who served at the court of Roger II of Sicily. He compiled a map of the known world using earlier sources as well as his own observations through his travels in the Magreb (North-west Africa) and West Asia. The map was extraordinary for its times and showed Western Europe, the Mediterranean world and West Asia in great detail. In his book, Kitāb nuzhat al-mushtāq fī ikhtirāq al-āfāq (“The Pleasure Excursion of One Who Is Eager to Traverse the Regions of the World”), al Idrisi describes contacts between the Arabs and certain islands near the West Indies of America. Historians have used al Idrisi’s observations to assert the African and Muslim discovery of America before Columbus.

Ibn Rushd (d 1198) is generally considered the greatest rational philosopher after Aristotle. His three volume commentary on the works of the Greek Master profoundly influenced the development of rational thought in the Latin West.  Ibn Rushd also wrote extensively on jurisprudence, psychology, astronomy, physics and music theory.

Al Jazari (d 1206) was the most prolific inventor of his age. He was an outstanding engineer and a mechanical genius.  More than 100 inventions are ascribed to him, including the cam shaft, rotary to linear motion converters, segmented gears, chain pumps, water pumps, clocks and mechanical robots.  He was arguably the father of robotics.

The Asharite Response

The intellectual storms created by the Mu’tazalite and anti-Mu’tazalite movements continued to rage long after the eighth century.  The Islamic world had come face to face with Greek rationalism and was trying to reconcile its belief system with reason. Was there an interface between reason and faith? If there was one, where was it? The major intellectual figures of the Islamic Golden Age grappled with this question and advanced their own views and their own theories.

Among the most influential of the usuli ulema who tried a reconciliation of reason with faith was the Shafi’ scholar Abul Hasan al Ash’ari (d 936 CE).   To maintain the transcendence of God and preserve His power over all decisions, Al Ash’ari advanced the thesis that time was discrete and was built up of small increments (atoms). At each increment of time, the Will of God intervenes and determines the outcome of an event. Thus, in the Asharite cosmology, a natural law which appears to follow the logic of cause and effect gets broken up into an infinite series of occasions for the intervention of the Will of God. Those who accepted the philosophy of al Ash’ari were called Asharites. The Asharite ideas found wide acceptance in the Islamic world and influenced some of the major thinkers of Islamic history including Al Gazzali and Allama Iqbal.

Al Ash’ari’s thesis was a major step towards a reconciliation of faith and reason. Al Ash’ari rejected the Mu’tazalite position that the Qur’an was “created”. He explained that the divine attributes of seeing, hearing and action are different from those of human beings and must not be understood in anthropological terms.

However, in advancing his own “atomistic” theory of time, Al Ash’ari left himself open to a critique from the philosophers and scientists.  What is time? Is it linear? Is it discrete? Is it warped? Is it even “real”? The limits of reason are the limits of human understanding of time. The Qur’an offers profound insights into the nature of time to guide humankind in its quest for the Truth. The passage of time, absolute time, perceived time, time as a moment, time as a day and as a mirage are all clarified in different contexts in the Qur’an. The definition of a natural phenomenon must therefore state, a priori, its assumptions of time within which the phenomenon are defined. Otherwise, observations, theories and deductions that are derived in one time frame become speculative when applied to a different time frame. Al Ash’ari won the debate against the Mu’tazalites of the day. However, his assumptions are insufficient to accommodate modern theories of quantum physics. The search for a satisfactory definition of the interface between reason and faith is perpetual and must continue. (Continues) 

Click here for Part-I , Part-II 

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(The author is Director, World Organization for Resource Development and Education, Washington, DC; Director, American Institute of Islamic History and Culture, CA; Member, State Knowledge Commission, Bangalore; and Chairman, Delixus Group)

Courtesy: History of Islam

The post Why the Scientific Revolution Did Not Take Place in the Muslim World? Part-III first appeared on Sindh Courier.

Was there one overwhelming event or was it a combination of social, political, technological, religious and military factors?

Prof. Dr. Nazeer Ahmed

So, what happened?

How did the Islamic world fall behind Europe? Alternately, what explains the rise of European technology and the decay of technology in the Islamic world? Was there one overwhelming event or was it a combination of social, political, technological, religious and military factors? We will take a brief survey of Islamic history to examine the ideas, the movements, the decisive events and the personages who influenced the development of science and technology and contributed to its flourishing and its decline.

The Mu’tazalite Eruption

It was the year 760. The Abbasid Caliphate vaulted across three continents, extending from Spain to India.  The Caliph al Mansur (d 775), realizing the need of a new capital for the administration of this vast empire, founded the magnificent city of Baghdad (760) on the banks of the river Tigris in Iraq. The empire brought together the peoples of Europe, Africa and Asia into a commonwealth of cultures. Baghdad became a melting pot of nations and a crucible of ideas from around the world. The resilient and self-confident Islamic civilization amalgamated these ideas and produced a composite culture that preserved and vastly expanded the intellectual horizons of humankind.

Al Mansur started a collection of classical books in Greek and Sanskrit. Under his successors, the process gathered momentum. The famed Caliph Harun al Rasheed, grandson of al Mansur, is generally credited with establishing a Bait al Hikmah (House of Wisdom) to transcribe and translate ancient texts from Greece, India, China and Persia. Under his son al Mamum, the Bait al Hikmah grew into a vast complex with separate departments for the sciences, astronomy, mathematics, logic and medicine. Here came the scholars from around the world with their books and their manuscripts, their philosophies and their sciences.  The Greeks brought with them the works of Aristotle, Galen and Plato. The Indians brought the astronomical treatises of Aryabhatta. The Chinese brought the technology for making porcelain and paper. The Persians brought the technology for windmills. An observatory was constructed to measure and map the heavens and measure the movement of planets and stars.  Baghdad radiated a culture of learning. Secondary libraries sprang up in major cities across the far flung empire, patronized by local governors and wealthy individuals. In later centuries, similar great centers of learning were established in North Africa (eighth century), Cordoba, Spain (ninth century) and Cairo, Egypt (tenth century).

The Muslims mastered the knowledge of the Greeks and the Hindus, greatly expanded it and invented new disciplines that were hitherto unknown. 

Knowledge is a gift from God. The acquisition of knowledge expands intellectual horizons and provides the propulsive power for the advancement of civilization. The Muslims mastered the knowledge of the Greeks and the Hindus, greatly expanded it and invented new disciplines that were hitherto unknown.  The accommodation of the sciences and philosophies from distant lands tested the limits of Muslim intellectual tolerance. Of all the sciences that the Islamic world were exposed to, the rational philosophy of the Greeks presented the greatest opportunity and the greatest challenge.

Read: Influential Islamic Scholar Imam Ahmed Was Tortured in Ramadan Because of His Beliefs

Muslim scholars fell in love with the rigor and precision of Greek rational thought and set out with enthusiasm to apply it to the profound questions emanating from the domains of nature, science, culture and faith. The Caliph al-Mansur was so impressed with the power and reach of reason that he adopted the rational approach as the court dogma. Those who applied the rational methods of the Greek philosophers to science, theology and culture were called the Mu’tazalites. This was the heyday for philosophy and philosophers in the Islamic world. Aristotle was their hero and his method was their guide. For eighty years, from 765 till 846, the Mu’tazalites were the darling of the Abbasid courts.

The Mu’tazalites over-extended their reach, intellectually and politically. Ancient philosophy depended heavily on a linear concept of time. Inherent to Greek logic were the assumptions of before and after, cause and effect, subject and object. As is now well understood by students of quantum mechanics and the theory of relativity, these assumptions are approximations and break down both at the sub-atomic and the galactic levels. The Mu’tazalites were unaware of these limits.  When they applied their rational methods to matters of faith, they fell flat on their face. In Islam, God is transcendent, beyond time and space, and there is none like unto Him. To maintain this transcendence, the Mu’tazalites advanced the position that the Qur’an could not be co-extant with God and must therefore be construed as “created”. This is a classic example of how philosophers fall into conceptual traps when they take positions on the nature of things without understanding the assumptions and the limits of their positions. For instance, can rational thought explain love? What is the reason to love? Is love eternal?  The heart admits of dimensions beyond the space-time dimensions of the mind. In a larger framework, the mind is king of the created world but it cannot understand matters of the heart and is helpless before it. The Nobel Laureate Schroedinger in his book Mind and Matter explained it beautifully:

“Mind, for anything perception can compass, goes therefore in our spatial world more ghostly than a ghost. Invisible, intangible, it is a thing not even of outline; it is not a ‘thing’. It remains without sensual confirmation and remains without it forever…. Physical science faces us with the impasse that mind per se cannot move a finger of a hand. Then the impasse meets us. The blank of the ‘how’ of mind’s leverage on matter…is unknown”, Schroedinger, Mind and Matter, Cambridge University Press, 1958, pp 42-43.

Imam Ahmed was whipped and jailed many times

Faith, which is based both on reason and emotion, transcends the capabilities of the mind. Modern string theories now admit of eleven-dimensional space and the possibilities of co-extant parallel universes.  The limitations of ancient philosophical thought are all too obvious.

The Mu’tazalite position that the Qur’an was “created” produced an uproar in orthodox circles. A counter-Mu’tazila movement sprang up, led by the Usuli ulema. The Mu’tazalites as well as the opposition invoked the Qur’an to justify their positions. Chief among those who opposed the Mutazalites was Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal, after whom the Hanbali fiqh is named. The Mu’tazalites showed little political wisdom. They applied the whip to those who opposed them. Imam Ahmed was whipped and jailed many times. Faced with determined opposition, the Caliph al Mutawakkil abandoned court patronage of the Mu’tazalites (846 CE). In turn, when the anti-Mu’tazalites had the upper hand, they persecuted the Mu’tazalites. (Continues)

Click here for Part-I 

________________

(The author is Director, World Organization for Resource Development and Education, Washington, DC; Director, American Institute of Islamic History and Culture, CA; Member, State Knowledge Commission, Bangalore; and Chairman, Delixus Group)

Courtesy: History of Islam

The post Why the Scientific Revolution Did Not Take Place in the Muslim World? Part-II first appeared on Sindh Courier.

Prof. Dr. Nazeer Ahmed

Summary: The natural sciences did not die out in the Islamic world with the Mongol devastation of the thirteenth century. Indeed, the Muslims held their own in art, architecture, astronomy and artisanship on the world stage well into the eighteenth century. It was only at the turn of the eighteenth century that Europe acquired a decisive technological edge and supplanted the ancient civilizations of Asia and Africa.

This article examines the complex interplay of intellectual, religious, social, political, economic factors and the decisive military events that precluded the onset of a scientific revolution in the Islamic world.  Summarily, we find seven discernible milestones in the 1400 year long history of Muslims that influenced the development of science and technology:

The Mu’tazalite eruption and its aftermath (765-846)

Al-Gazzali’s repudiation of the philosophers (1100)

The Crusades (1096-1240)

The Mongol Devastations (1219-1258)

Neglect of the printing press and naval technology (1450-1728)

The Destructive Shia-Sunni, Sufi-Salafi Controversies (700-ongoing)

Colonialism and the onset of the Age of Discontinuity (1757-1947)

The discourse tends to get obscure when questions of philosophy and science are discussed. Therefore, a number of resources from the open literature have been used to construct a narrative that is as accessible to a layman as it is to a scholar.

The Rockets of Mysore

It comes as a surprise to some readers that the American National Anthem, The Star Spangled Banner, was inspired by the rockets invented by a Muslim king, Tippu Sultan of Mysore, India.  It was the year 1814. The Anglo-American war was in full swing. The British forces, after burning down Washington and conducting a raid on Alexandria, proceeded up the Chesapeake Bay to capture Fort McHenry in Baltimore. Caught in the cross fire were two American lawyers, Francis Scott Key and John Stuart Skinner who had gone over to negotiate a truce and prisoner exchange with the British. Key and Skinner were allowed to board the British flagship HMS Tonant and present their proposals to Major General Robert Ross and Vice Admiral Alexander Cochrane while the two were discussing their plans for an attack on Baltimore.

Since they had overheard the detailed war plans, Key and Skinner were held back by the British and were witness to the bombardment of Baltimore on September 13, 1814. Orange and red flashes of rocket fire illuminated the skies over Fort McHenry. The stillness over Chesapeake Bay was shattered by the deafening sounds of explosives. The bombardment went on all night and it was not clear as to which side would prevail in this clash of arms. At day break, as the first rays of the sun hit the fort and the fog lifted over the Bay, the American flag was still aloft Fort McHenry, fluttering in the morning breeze.  This was the moving sight that inspired Francis Scott Key to compose the Star Spangled Banner.

It comes as a surprise to some readers that the American National Anthem, The Star Spangled Banner, was inspired by the rockets invented by a Muslim king, Tippu Sultan of Mysore, India

The rockets used in the war of 1812 were a takeoff on the rockets captured by the British from Tippu Sultan of Mysore after the fourth Anglo-Mysore war of 1799. The Mysore rockets used a casing of iron unlike the plaster casings that were in common use in European rockets.  The metal casing enabled the sustenance of higher pressures in the bore and increased the propulsive power of the rocket. The solid propellant was compacted gunpowder. The Mysore rockets had a range of 2 kilometers which was more than twice the range of the most advanced rockets used by European armies. Attached to the end of the iron barrel was a long bamboo pole with an affixed doubled edged sword as the payload. When launched in clusters, the sword- equipped rockets played havoc with concentrations of enemy troops.

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The late Dr. Abdul Kalam, the architect of India’s modern rocket programs, called Tippu Sultan the father of modern rocketry. Tippu was a technology buff and paid special attention to innovation in armament design. There were thousands of rockets in his armory. Platoons of rocket men were attached to each of his regiments. With the military edge provided by the rockets, the Sultan won a decisive victory over British forces in the Battle of Pollilur in 1780. It was the only major battle that the British lost on Indian soil during their long drawn out conquest of the Indian subcontinent, starting with the Battle of Plassey in Bengal (1757) and ending with the second Anglo-Sikh war in the Punjab (1848-49).

When Tippu Sultan fell during the fourth Anglo-Mysore war of 1799, the British sent some of the captured Mysore rockets to the Royal Laboratory at Woolwich Arsenal in England.  A development team led by Colonel Congreve made a systematic study of the rockets using Newton’s laws of motion. Congreve made design improvements to the rockets to make them more stable in flight. The modified Mysore rockets, renamed the Congreve rockets, were used by the British against Napoleon at the Battle of Boulogne in France in 1806. And it was the Congreve rockets that were used by the British to bombard Fort McHenry in Baltimore during the Anglo-American war of 1812.

Thus it was that the technology invented by an Indian Muslim sultan inspired the national anthem of a great nation, the United States of America, on the other side of the globe. The advances made by the rocket engineers of Tippu Sultan show that as late as the eighteenth century, technological developments in the Muslim world were not far behind those in Europe. Indeed, in some categories they were noticeably ahead.  It was only in the nineteenth century that Europe acquired a decisive technological edge over Asia.  We offer a few more examples to reinforce this observation.

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The Mogul emperor Akbar (d 1605) introduced the matchlock rifle into the Indian armies. The 66 inch long barrel of this rifle was made from fine grained superplastic steel which was tough, fracture resistant and facilitated a finer, more uniform finish in the bore. The stronger material could sustain higher barrel pressures, which together with the long barrel, enabled the extraction of more energy from the products of combustion and imparted a higher velocity to the exiting payload. The matchlock rifle was more than a match for those made in Europe and could take down an enemy soldier at distances of more than 300 yards.

Babur’s armies used a composite bow in their invasion of Delhi (1526). Made from composite layers of wood and animal fiber, the flexed, pre-stressed bows were comparable to the long English bow in their power and range but were considerably lighter, smaller and faster. The Mogul bow and arrow made the difference in the onward march of their armies through the plains of India. One must note that specialized composite materials are used in modern engineering in the construction of advanced aircraft and space hardware. For instance, I personally directed the use of a large number of advanced composites in the Hubble Space Telescope (1979-82).

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Ulugh Beg (1394-1449), a Timurid prince of Central Asia, built a great astronomical observatory, called Gurkhani Zinj, at Samarkand in today’s Uzbekistan. It was one of the largest and most precise observatories in the world at that time. Ulugh Beg was himself a mathematician of repute and he backed up the work at the observatory with the establishment of universities at Samarkand and Bukhara, turning them into world renowned centers of learning in the mathematical and astronomical sciences. Using observations from the observatory, he published a star catalogue called Zij e Sultani which was a giant leap forward upon the earlier works of Ptolemy.  He measured the length of the year at 365.257 days and the tilt of the axis of rotation of the earth at 23.52 degrees. These measurements were far more precise than those made a hundred years later in Europe by Copernicus (d 1543). Ulugh Beg’s accurate tables of sines and tangents were correct to eight decimal places. The work of Ulugh Beg found a resonance in the Taqi Uddin observatory of Istanbul (1574) and the string of observatories built by Raja Jai Singh of Amber (1688-1743) during the reign of Mogul emperor Mohammed Shah (d 1748). One of these observatories, called Jantar Mantar, stands in the heart of the modern metropolis of Delhi.

These examples confirm that mathematical pursuits and technological achievements did not cease with the Mongol invasions. The Ottoman, Safavid and Mogul empires that emerged after the Mongol-Tartar invasions produced a galaxy of great architects and civil engineers. The names of the Turkish master architect Mimar Sinan (d 1588) and Ustad Ahmed Lahori (1649), the architect of the Taj Mahal, stand out. The armies of these three empires excelled in metallurgy, military hardware and artillery. (Continues) 

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(The author is Director, World Organization for Resource Development and Education, Washington, DC; Director, American Institute of Islamic History and Culture, CA; Member, State Knowledge Commission, Bangalore; and Chairman, Delixus Group)

Courtesy: History of Islam

The post Why the Scientific Revolution Did Not Take Place in the Muslim World? Part-I first appeared on Sindh Courier.