The great scientist Galileo Galilei is the perfect
example of creative coexistence between science and religion. A
devout Catholic and a fearless scientist, he is rightly regarded as
the father of modern experimental science. In 1616 the Church put
him on trial for supporting the view that the earth went round the
Sun. He made a very important observation in his defense. He said
that the Bible was not intended to tell us anything about scientific
theories. Where the Bible came into conflict with common sense it
was being allegorical.
Now, allegory is a statement which carries a meaning different from
the literal one such as the creation of the Universe in six days.
All revealed Scriptures have this trait in common that they are
heavily allegorical. It is our mistake that we take them to be
literally true. Charles Darwin, too, suffered a great deal on this
account. He firmly believed in the origin of life in paradise, but
mounting evidence for the evolution of life on earth made him accept
the truth. Galileo’s stand was vindicated in 1981 when the Vatican
invited astronomers and physicists to advise the Church on
cosmology.
It is relevant here to mention that Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, the most
prominent Indian Philosopher in the twentieth century, echoes the
same sentiment about the Upanisads. In the preface to his opus ‘The
Principal Upanisads’ he cautions the reader to make a distinction
between the message of Upanisads and their mythology which is liable
to correction by advances in science. Among the so called revealed
Scriptures, the Quran categorically affirms it (Al-Imran) and
declares that only Allah knows the true interpretation of the
allegorical verses.
This last point needs a little elaboration to emphasize its great
importance in our understanding of the Scriptures in general and the
Quran in particular. Verses 5-7 of Al-Imran say, “It is He who has
revealed to you the Book. Some of its verses are precise in meaning-
they are the foundation of the Book- and others allegorical. Those
whose hearts are infected with disbelief follow the allegorical
parts so as to create dissension and to interpret it. But no one
knows its interpretation except Allah. Those who are well-grounded
in knowledge say: We believe in it: it is all from our Lord. But
only the wise take heed.”
Three conclusions follow from these precise verses.
1. Allegorical verses are beyond human interpretation (of course
there may be a personal one that need not be true).
2. Only the precise verses are to be followed in letter and spirit.
3. The reader of the Quran should be able to distinguish between
these two types of verses.
It is difficult to miss the conclusion that free literal
interpretation of the Scriptures is the root cause of fundamentalism
and obscurantism in every religious community. And a debate on this
issue is long overdue.
