Using Logic and Science to Establish Faith: An Islamic Perspective | Omar Abdul Fatah | TEDxUBC — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:13Thank you guys for the round of
2. 0:14applause, even though I haven't said
3. 0:15anything yet. But, um
4. 0:17So, my name is Omar Abdulfatah, and I am
5. 0:20a history student here at UBC, hoping to
6. 0:22become a teacher. And today, I would
7. 0:24like to talk about uh a very contentious
8. 0:27topic, but it's something I think is
9. 0:29very worth worth discussing, discussing,
10. 0:31sorry. And that is the relationship
11. 0:33between logic, science, and faith.
12. 0:36And specifically, I'd like to challenge
13. 0:38the idea that science, logic, and faith
14. 0:41are inherently distinct. And and I I'd
15. 0:43like to do that by sharing my story of
16. 0:45how I became a more practicing Muslim.
17. 0:49So, I'd like to begin today by asking
18. 0:50each and every single one of you guys,
19. 0:52or each and every single one of you,
20. 0:54um
21. 0:55what do you believe?
22. 0:57And by this, I don't mean I believe like
23. 0:59reading break was way too short, we need
24. 1:002 weeks. I mean, what do you believe
25. 1:03about like your existence? Like how you
26. 1:05came to be.
27. 1:07Uh and me and my experiences growing up
28. 1:09in BC for the most part,
29. 1:12I I think it'd be safe to say that this
30. 1:13is something a lot of us have maybe
31. 1:15thought about,
32. 1:16right? Growing up, maybe some of us have
33. 1:17parents who are well involved in
34. 1:19religious institutions. So, this is
35. 1:20something we probably thought about. And
36. 1:22if it's something you haven't thought
37. 1:23about, I ask you to think about it right
38. 1:25now. So, take 1 second to think about
39. 1:26what do you what do you believe?
40. 1:29And now, I'd like to follow this up with
41. 1:30another question, why do you believe it?
42. 1:34Now, for some of us, this question might
43. 1:35throw us off because whenever you ask
44. 1:37somebody why, you're assuming that
45. 1:39there's some sort of logic or scientific
46. 1:41reasoning behind the question.
47. 1:43And this to me, this surprise, if you
48. 1:45will, highlights the common
49. 1:46misconception that we have in our
50. 1:48society today that religion and science
51. 1:50and logic aren't inherently distinct.
52. 1:53And I would like to challenge that today
53. 1:55by sharing my story, like I said, of how
54. 1:56I became a practicing Muslim.
55. 1:59So, you might see me standing up here
56. 2:00with my beard and my hat. I assure you
57. 2:03this is not what is on the ISIS flag, so
58. 2:05I'm not repping ISIS, I guarantee you.
59. 2:07Um but for me, I didn't always go around
60. 2:11repping my religion like this. And if if
61. 2:12you don't believe me, here is here is
62. 2:15one of the first videos I did for my
63. 2:16YouTube channel.
64. 2:18And uh if you're wondering why it's in
65. 2:19Japanese, I'll explain in just a second.
66. 2:21But,
67. 2:22um
68. 2:23so
69. 2:25So, anyways, you can see the slow, you
70. 2:27know, progression of the beard there,
71. 2:28and and, you know, I won't point wearing
72. 2:30the cap. It didn't just happen
73. 2:32overnight. This was a very intellectual,
74. 2:33it was a long intellectual, spiritual
75. 2:36struggle.
76. 2:37And so,
77. 2:40basically, now to the Japanese part. So,
78. 2:422 years ago, I had the opportunity to
79. 2:44work in Japan, and I got a job teaching
80. 2:46English.
81. 2:47And this job was kind of like an open
82. 2:49placement. So, I applied for the
83. 2:50program, but they could put me anywhere
84. 2:52in Japan.
85. 2:53And so, I ended up on this island.
86. 2:56So, this island is beautiful, yes.
87. 2:58Um I slightly edited it, just a little
88. 3:00bit. But, um
89. 3:03this entire island is actually smaller
90. 3:04than Stanley Park.
91. 3:06So, I went to live on this island. If
92. 3:07you're wondering where this island is,
93. 3:09this is Japan.
94. 3:11You guys know, and and this is my island
95. 3:12down there in in Okinawa.
96. 3:14Yeah, Okinawa prefecture. So,
97. 3:18you can imagine a foreigner like myself
98. 3:20being born and raised in in the Lower
99. 3:22Mainland, New Westminster for the most
100. 3:23part, uh going to an island like this
101. 3:26with a population of 390 people,
102. 3:28according to to city hall.
103. 3:30Um
104. 3:31Going to an island like this, it was uh
105. 3:33a huge shock for me.
106. 3:35I didn't speak Japanese at all. I didn't
107. 3:37even know how to cook or do laundry on
108. 3:39my own. This was a huge transition for
109. 3:41me. And it was also a huge transition
110. 3:43for the people on the island.
111. 3:45So, when they see someone who's like
112. 3:466'3,
113. 3:48and you know, one thing I often heard
114. 3:49was like, "Oh, shincho ga takai desu
115. 3:51ne." Like, you're like your height is
116. 3:54really tall, basically.
117. 3:56That's one thing I heard. So, obviously
118. 3:57stood out. Um but surprisingly, there
119. 3:59was one other person on the island who
120. 4:01was almost my height. But, his height
121. 4:03earned him a special name. They called
122. 4:04him Jumbo-san. And san means like an
123. 4:07honorific term. Anyways, so me and
124. 4:10Jumbo-san, basically. Um
125. 4:13So,
126. 4:14I go on to this island, and you can
127. 4:15imagine I'm feeling pretty much like a
128. 4:17superstar. Everyone's inviting me to
129. 4:19their house, to the to I I get regularly
130. 4:22invited to the three bars on the island.
131. 4:24And
132. 4:25you know, I'm feeling pretty good about
133. 4:27myself.
134. 4:28But eventually, all that fades.
135. 4:30And
136. 4:32I get used to the routine. So, I'm going
137. 4:33to school, I'm teaching English, and
138. 4:35then I come back home, and I'm just
139. 4:36getting used to the routine. And I'm
140. 4:37like, really, what is the point of of
141. 4:40life anymore? And it wasn't really a
142. 4:41depressive thought at first, but it was
143. 4:43just like, you know, I've just gotten so
144. 4:44used to it, like what am I living for at
145. 4:46this at this time? And everything that
146. 4:48made me comfortable
147. 4:49was kind of taken away from me. So, I
148. 4:51had my language for one. I I couldn't
149. 4:53speak Japanese when I first came there.
150. 4:55That was gone. I had my friends, that
151. 4:57was all gone. My parents, that was gone.
152. 4:59My school, you know, school was a huge
153. 5:01source of confidence for me. That was
154. 5:03gone cuz I was graduated.
155. 5:04I graduated at at the time. So, I found
156. 5:07myself really getting used to the
157. 5:08routine. And for me, this meant sinking
158. 5:10into my own thoughts a lot.
159. 5:12And the one thing that I had to hang on
160. 5:14to was my faith. That was the one thing
161. 5:16I had to hang on to.
162. 5:17So, I remember
163. 5:19in prayer, like really for the first
164. 5:21time in my life, thinking about my
165. 5:23religion. Right? I was always I was
166. 5:25always a Muslim, alhamdulillah. But,
167. 5:27this was the first time in my life I was
168. 5:28thinking about my religion. So, I'd be
169. 5:29praying, and I started actually crying.
170. 5:31And I because I would start to think
171. 5:33about what I was actually saying in my
172. 5:34prayer.
173. 5:35But,
174. 5:36when you put all your baskets in, or
175. 5:38when you put all your money, let's say,
176. 5:39or all your eggs in one basket, then you
177. 5:41really have to make sure that what you
178. 5:43invested in is true. Right? It's like
179. 5:45investing all your money in Bitcoin, and
180. 5:47then you lose your job, and you're like,
181. 5:49"What is Bitcoin? I have no idea."
182. 5:50Right? So,
183. 5:52I started, for the first time in my
184. 5:54life, I was like, "I need to make sure
185. 5:56that my religion is true. I I don't want
186. 5:58to just do this because my parents are
187. 5:59doing it." I don't want to blindly
188. 6:00follow my what my parents are following.
189. 6:02So, I started a scientific experiment,
190. 6:05you could say.
191. 6:07And it started with this claim.
192. 6:10So, one of the reasons Muslims believe
193. 6:11that the Quran is the word of God, it's
194. 6:13not man-made, is because the book has no
195. 6:16contradictions in it. Or that was the
196. 6:17claim.
197. 6:18So, instead of accepting this blindly, I
198. 6:20decided to actually do a scientific
199. 6:23experiment.
200. 6:24And I should just mention that this
201. 6:25claim is actually founded in the Quran.
202. 6:27It's an argument that comes from within
203. 6:28the Quran. So, for example, verse two,
204. 6:31uh chapter two, verse two, says, "Hadhal
205. 6:33kitab la rayba fihi hudan lil muttaqin."
206. 6:36This is a book about which there is no
207. 6:38doubt, guidance for those who are
208. 6:39God-conscious. And in chapter four,
209. 6:41verse 82, "Afala yatadabbarunal Quran
210. 6:44walau kana min indi ghairillah lawajadu
211. 6:46fihi ikhtilafan kathira."
212. 6:49If this book was from any other than
213. 6:50God, there would have been within it
214. 6:51many contradictions. So, this is a claim
215. 6:53that comes from within the Quran.
216. 6:55So,
217. 6:56I thought in my head, I was like, "If
218. 6:58there are contradictions in the Quran,
219. 7:00surely the internet would have them."
220. 7:02So, I started searching online, and this
221. 7:05is one example of a apparent
222. 7:06contradiction that I came across. This
223. 7:07is one of the first ones. So, I don't
224. 7:09want to prejudice your opinions in any
225. 7:11way. So, I'm just going to put these
226. 7:12verses out here, and then you can decide
227. 7:13if it's a contradiction or not. So, this
228. 7:15is the first verse. Take a second to
229. 7:17read it.
230. 7:22Here's the second verse.
231. 7:28Here's the Here's the third verse.
232. 7:31Okay, is this a contradiction?
233. 7:34Now, I really thought about this. And
234. 7:36objectively, scientifically,
235. 7:38empirically, this is not a
236. 7:39contradiction. Why? Because it is not an
237. 7:42indication of how many angels were
238. 7:44present, rather it is a set of
239. 7:46successive promises. So, it's just a set
240. 7:48of successive promises.
241. 7:50So, that was one of the apparent
242. 7:51contradictions that I came across.
243. 7:54Here's another one. How many days? In
244. 7:56Islam, we believe that time is relative,
245. 7:58so our days are shorter than God's days.
246. 8:00And this is based on this verse,
247. 8:03which says that God
248. 8:04God's day is basically 1,000 days of
249. 8:07which we count.
250. 8:08So,
251. 8:09this is one verse. Here is the other
252. 8:11one.
253. 8:12Is this a contradiction? If you read the
254. 8:14second verse, it's actually talking
255. 8:16about the day of judgment, which we
256. 8:18believe is going to be so hard on people
257. 8:20that it's going to feel like basically
258. 8:2150,000 years. The second verse isn't
259. 8:23actually talking about a day of God,
260. 8:25it's talking about the day of judgment.
261. 8:26And I don't want anybody to blindly
262. 8:28accept what I'm telling you. If you kind
263. 8:30of doubt what I'm saying, go and look up
264. 8:32the verses yourself. Like, here are the
265. 8:35references. Chapter 70, verse four.
266. 8:38So,
267. 8:40that was the first part of my scientific
268. 8:41inquiry. I'll just go back to that.
269. 8:43Yeah, that was the first part of my
270. 8:44scientific inquiry. And
271. 8:48what I basically did here was I took a
272. 8:50claim that validated my religion, and I
273. 8:52tested it. I empirically tested it. That
274. 8:54was one claim. That's one of the reasons
275. 8:55why I believe we we believe that the
276. 8:57Quran is the word of God. But, that's
277. 8:58not the only reason.
278. 9:00Here's another reason.
279. 9:01There are no scientific errors in the
280. 9:03Quran.
281. 9:04One belief that we have in Islam is that
282. 9:06the Quran not only is consistent with
283. 9:07science, but it supersedes science. It
284. 9:09precedes science because some of the
285. 9:11things that are mentioned in the Quran
286. 9:121,400 years ago have only been
287. 9:14discovered recently. So, I decided to
288. 9:16actually test this out for myself
289. 9:18instead of blindly accept it.
290. 9:20So,
291. 9:21this is one example of a scientific
292. 9:23miracle, you could say, in the Quran.
293. 9:26Um it is he who has made the sun a
294. 9:27shining light and the moon a derived
295. 9:29light.
296. 9:30So, I want to focus your attention on
297. 9:31these two underlined terms. I had no
298. 9:34idea
299. 9:35that the sun is its own light, and the
300. 9:38moon is actually a reflected light. I
301. 9:39had no idea whatsoever. Um so, when I
302. 9:42discovered this, this really boggled my
303. 9:45mind.
304. 9:46And just to clarify one thing, um no,
305. 9:49this is actually not this verse, it's
306. 9:50the next verse. But, so in this specific
307. 9:52verse,
308. 9:53there are two words used to describe the
309. 9:55different lights of the moon and the
310. 9:57sun. The word for the sun is siraj,
311. 9:59which is like a torch, if you will. And
312. 10:02the word for the moon is noor, which is
313. 10:03like the the light reflected on the
314. 10:05wall, the reflected light. So, I found
315. 10:07this to be pretty amazing. That was one
316. 10:09example. Here's another one.
317. 10:11There are elements of the Big Bang
318. 10:13Theory that are present in the Quran.
319. 10:17So, here's an example.
320. 10:25Have those who disbelieve not considered
321. 10:26that the heavens and the earth, and by
322. 10:28heavens it means galaxies,
323. 10:30were once a joint entity, and then we
324. 10:32separated them?
325. 10:33So,
326. 10:34we discovered in 1929
327. 10:38with Edwin Hubble's observations
328. 10:40that the universe was actually
329. 10:43expanding. And basically, what he what
330. 10:45he observed is that planets or stars,
331. 10:49actually, are actually they're going
332. 10:51away from each other at a pretty rapid
333. 10:52rate. So, this is one of the reasons why
334. 10:54we we believe that the heavens and the
335. 10:55earth or the galaxies and the earth were
336. 10:57once closer together than they are now.
337. 11:00And the whole idea of expansion is
338. 11:02presented in this next verse. And we are
339. 11:04its expander.
340. 11:06So, this is was mentioned 1,400 years
341. 11:09ago, and it was only confirmed by Edwin
342. 11:10Hubble in 1929.
343. 11:13So, for me, it wasn't so much amazing
344. 11:15that this was consistent with the Quran,
345. 11:16but what was amazing to me was that
346. 11:18there wasn't a single verse that I came
347. 11:20across in the Quran that was
348. 11:22inconsistent with science.
349. 11:24And to me, what this means to me is that
350. 11:28Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be
351. 11:30upon him, did not write this book. Like,
352. 11:32logically, I thought about this when I
353. 11:33was analyzing this. People say he wrote
354. 11:35the book. But I thought, you know what?
355. 11:37I had no idea that the moon was a
356. 11:39reflected light, or I had no idea that,
357. 11:42you know, the universe was expanding,
358. 11:43but how did he know? And he lived 1,400
359. 11:45years ago when there wasn't Google, you
360. 11:46know? He couldn't just Google things.
361. 11:48So,
362. 11:49that was the second part of my
363. 11:50scientific experiment.
364. 11:53Then I realized, okay, I was like, okay,
365. 11:55this makes sense. What I was taught as a
366. 11:57kid wasn't just lies. I validated it. I
367. 11:59looked at it my I looked at it myself.
368. 12:01But what about evolution?
369. 12:04Right? Isn't that another thing that
370. 12:06completely contradicts everything that
371. 12:08I've learned as a Muslim? What about
372. 12:10evolution?
373. 12:11And so, I began to study evolution.
374. 12:13And here's what I realized about
375. 12:14evolution.
376. 12:17Whether you accept evolution, or if I if
377. 12:19I were to accept evolution and every
378. 12:21single thing that it states,
379. 12:23that doesn't justify me becoming an
380. 12:25atheist, or doesn't justify me
381. 12:28being an agnostic. Why? Because the
382. 12:30theory of evolution in and of itself
383. 12:31doesn't explain the origins of the
384. 12:33universe.
385. 12:34And I would argue further that it
386. 12:35doesn't really explain the origins of
387. 12:36the first organism, because every
388. 12:38discourse on evolution assumes that
389. 12:40things can reproduce.
390. 12:42So, a question that I had in my head
391. 12:43was, okay, I was like, take me back to
392. 12:45the first organism. How did it even get
393. 12:47the ability to reproduce?
394. 12:49And even if you accept that, you still
395. 12:51have to explain the you know, the
396. 12:52origins of the universe. So, that was
397. 12:54one thing I realized about evolution.
398. 12:56The second thing I realized was whether
399. 12:58I choose to devote my life to Islam or
400. 13:01whether I take a more agnostic secular
401. 13:04route, either way, I'm being involved in
402. 13:06blind faith.
403. 13:08Right? Many religious people, they
404. 13:09blindly take the followings of their
405. 13:11scholars, just like many people who
406. 13:12believe in science blindly accept what
407. 13:14their textbook tells them, or what, you
408. 13:15know, their scientists told them, right?
409. 13:17I mean, for take for example, the idea
410. 13:19of evolution.
411. 13:20How many people who believe in evolution
412. 13:21have ever actually studied the archeo-
413. 13:23archaeological record themselves? Or how
414. 13:25many have actually looked at the journal
415. 13:26articles themselves, even though it's
416. 13:28free to do with UBC library website,
417. 13:30right? So,
418. 13:32few people do this.
419. 13:34And so, ultimately, the point is here
420. 13:37that what I'm trying to get at is my
421. 13:39journey to faith really was an
422. 13:42intellectual process. It didn't just
423. 13:43something I didn't just have a vision
424. 13:44one night and I'm like, yes, Allahu
425. 13:46Akbar, you know? It really was it really
426. 13:49was a slow intellectual process, and
427. 13:52it's still, in a way, is. For me, the
428. 13:54reason why I get up every morning before
429. 13:56sunrise to pray is for this reason,
430. 13:58because I believe this is the truth
431. 13:59intellectually, logically, and
432. 14:01spiritually.
433. 14:02And so, what can any of you guys or any
434. 14:05of you take away from this? Right? You
435. 14:07guys have heard a a lot of amazing TED
436. 14:08Talks today, and but I don't believe in
437. 14:11knowledge without application, right?
438. 14:14You should listen to something and you
439. 14:15should actually implement it in your
440. 14:16life. So, I'd like to leave us all with
441. 14:18one
442. 14:20verse from the Quran.
443. 14:22And this verse is presented in the
444. 14:23context of a theological debate, but
445. 14:25it's still something that I try to live
446. 14:27my life with every every day. It's still
447. 14:28something I try to live my life by.
448. 14:30So, the verse is, "Qul hatu burhanakum
449. 14:32in kuntum sadiqeen." Present your
450. 14:34evidence if you are truthful.
451. 14:37Okay?
452. 14:37And so, my message today is, no matter
453. 14:40what you're exposed to, always ask
454. 14:42questions. Always critically think.
455. 14:44Always seek evidence. Always ask for
456. 14:46evidence. So, if somebody comes today to
457. 14:48you or tomorrow and says, you know,
458. 14:50Justin Trudeau just abolished taxes.
459. 14:52Don't just blindly accept them. Don't
460. 14:54rip up your T4, right? Hang on to it,
461. 14:57right?
462. 14:58Always ask questions. Where did you get
463. 14:59that information from, right? Ask
464. 15:00questions. There's nothing wrong with
465. 15:02that.
466. 15:03And so, when we do this, we make
467. 15:05ourselves less susceptible to believing
468. 15:07in things that fuel or drive so much of
469. 15:09the oppression that we see in the world
470. 15:10today. The racism, the Islamophobia, the
471. 15:12sexism. All these negative things are
472. 15:15fueled by ignorance, and that's because
473. 15:16people don't ask questions. They blindly
474. 15:18accept things, and they don't seek out
475. 15:20evidence. So, think, be critical, and
476. 15:23just seek out the truth. Thank you guys
477. 15:25very much. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
478. 15:37AND IF I COULD JUST MENTION SOMETHING
479. 15:38BRIEFLY, UH NEXT week we're having,
480. 15:40starting Monday, we're having our annual
481. 15:42Muslim Students Association Islam
482. 15:44Awareness Week. So, if if you guys have
483. 15:46questions about Islam or just want to
484. 15:48come and eat halal food, then please
485. 15:49stop by the Nest, and we'll see you
486. 15:52there, inshallah. Thank you very much.
487. 15:53Thanks.