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Prof. Hakim Ali (d. 1364/1944)
was a teacher of mathematics at the Islamiyya College, Lahore. He was
exceptionally brilliant in his field and Aqa-i-Bedar, Principle of Dar
al-Ulum Al-Sina al-Sharqiyya in Lahore was a disciple of the former.
Professor Hakim Ali had reverence for Ahmad Raza and used to visit him
and exchange thoughts on intellectual matters. Both had correspondence
with each other about the rotation of the earth. On 14 Jamadi al-Awwal
1339/1921, Prof. Hakim Ali wrote a letter to Ahmad Raza and from this
letter it could be inferred that both were carrying on correspondence
regarding science for a long time. The Professor wrote to Imam Ahmad
Raza:
"If you kindly agree with me,
Allah willing, Science and the Scientist could be Muslimized."
In reply to this letter, Ahmad
Raza wrote the treatise 'Nuzul-i-Ayah-i-Quran Bi Sukun-i-Zamin-o-Asman'
in 1338/1920. In this he discussed the movement of the earth and opposed
the views of Prof. Hakim Ali. His views about the modern and ancient
Philosophies, were not imitative or apologetic, but it was very creative
and sincere. He had unshakable faith in Quran and the Hadith, and no
vicissitudes of time could affect him. Once he wrote to Prof. Hakim Ali:
"My friend! It is obligatory that our hearts be filled with honor of
Sahaba, the Companions of the Holy Prophet (Allah’s grace and peace be
upon him). They learnt Quran from the Holy Prophet (Allah’s grace and
peace be upon him) and understood its meaning from him. Before them we
appear to be unlettered, my friend! If we think that meaning we have
understood of Quran is correct, and the honor of Sahaba, particularly
Hazrat Huzayfa and Hazrat Abdullah Ibn-i-Masud understood them wrongly,
the Sahaba is slighted. I give you in the protection of Allah that even
such a thought passes through your heart.
After this, Imam Ahmad Raza Khan continued in this letter:
"My friend! Science would not be Islamised by adjusting problems and
ayah to science. In this way, May Allah save us, Islam accepted science
and not vice versa. If science is to be made Muslim, all the Islamic
problems with which science is apparently in contradiction, have to be
highlighted inquiring into the weakness and reason of science. Science
should be employed to emphasize the positive features of Islamic stand
and rebut the un-Islamic views of modern science. This is not difficult
for an intelligent man like you. You love such things."
If we had accepted the approach of Imam Ahmad Raza (may Allah be pleased
with him) our educated youth today would not have been so enamored with
modern thoughts and skeptical about Islamic views. If scientists had
sought guidance from the Quran they would have reached centuries ago
where they are now. Life in plants, echoes of sound in space, speed of
light, mysteries of land and ocean, the colorfulness of the earth and
heaven, and the disintegration that goes on in the universe are not new
for a student of the Quran. In fact they are very ancient. It is the
magical spell of the West that even the acquainted appears quaint.
Properties of sound were discovered much later, but Muslim Sufis and
ulema had discovered these quite early and pointed out things which
would perhaps be surprising to modern man.
Imam Ahmad Riza wrote a treatise 'al-bayan-i-Shafia li-Phonographia'
(Phonographia) in 1326/1008. This subject outwardly appears to be the
Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence), but in truth it is scientific. All the
discussions of this treatise are related to science. In this treatise he
pointed out the difference between photography and phonography. He wrote
two preludes, discussing phonography. In the first prelude he discusses:
1. What is sound
2. How it is produced
3. How it is heard
4. After its production, whether it remains or disappears?
5. Whether it exists outside the ear or originates within the ear?
6. What is its relation to the soniferous (one that makes sound).
Whether it is intrinsic property or extrinsic?
7. Whether it continues to exist or not after its disappearance?
In the second prelude he discussed:
1. Existence in the eyes
2. Existence in the mind
3. Existence in the print
4. Existence in the book
Imam Ahmad Raza (Allah’s grace and peace be upon him) introduced the
wave theory of sound and proved experimentally that the following
qualities are necessary for hearing of sound:
1. Vibrating organ
2. Medium e.g. air/water
3. Propagation of waves
4. Receiver e.g. the ear (ear/drum/tympani membrane)
He had special expertise in Ilm al-Tawqit (chronometry). Zafar al-Din
Rizawi collected the speeches of Imam Ahmad Raza (may Allah be pleased
with him) in ilm al-tawqit and published them in the form of a treatise
under the name, Al-Jawahir wal-Yawaqhith Fi Ilm al-tawqit. This treatise
is also known as Tawzih al-tawqit and was printed and published by Naimi
press, Moradabad (India).
Among the letters of Imam Ahmad Raza (may Allah be pleased with him) we
find his research on various branches of arts and sciences. In one
letter written on fifth Saffar 1333/1915, he discussed Asr-i-Hanafi in
about 10 pages. Maulana Zafar al-Din Rizawi (may Allah be pleased with
him), shedding light on his mastery of Ilm-al-tawqit, writes:
"Along with astronomy, his mastery of Ilm al-tawqit was so great that it
could be apt if he were called the fore-runner in this subject. Students
from Hijaz and Russia used to come to Ahmad Raza to study modern
subjects. Maulana Sayyid Hussain Madani (son of Sayyid Abdul Qadir Shami)
came from Madina and stayed with him for 14 months and learnt ilm-taksir.
For him Ahmad Riza wrote the treatise on ilm-i-taksir, called Ataib al-Iksir
fi Ilm al-Taksir. His letter, dated 27 Muharram 1306/1888 addressed to
Zafar al-Din Rizawi are full of discussions on Ilm-i-Taksir of six
pages. Ahmad Raza had a keen insight in ilm-i-Jafr also. Abd al-Ghaffar
al-Bukhar (may Allah be pleased with him) came from Russia and stayed
with him to learn this science from him. Ahmad Raza's treatise Safr al-Sarf-an-al-Jafr
bi al-Jafr is about this topic."
Sayyid Riyasat Ali Qadiri brought from Bereilly 40 Arabic, Persian and
Urdu manuscripts of treatises, annotations and commentaries, etc. Dr.
Prof. Masud Ahmed read these notes cursorily. Sayyid Riyasat Ali Qadiri
has published from Karachi, the annotations on logarithms in 1980 and
for knowledgeable people they are worth reading. On Trigonometry there
are also notes that he intends to publish. There is nobody in Pakistan
who can understand his Arabic and Persian books on Mathematics.
Dr. Prof. Masud Ahmed drew the attention of the Nobel laureate Prof. Add
al-Salaam but he pleaded his inability and said, I shall be happy but
can’t understand Arabic.
Imam Ahmad Raza (may Allah be pleased with him) propounded his own
formulae of Mathematics also explained his sets of laws in his own
unique way.
Once Imam Ahmad Raza (may Allah be pleased with him) solved successfully
a complicated problem on Mathematics. The vice-chancellor of Muslim
University, Aligarh (UP, India), Dr Sir Ziauddeen was so impressed and
astonished and pleased that he cried spontaneously:
"Imam Ahmad Raza deserves a Nobel Prize"
Sir Ziauddeen, a famous Mathematician, was in a predicament with regards
to part of his research in the mathematical field. He had to go to
Berlin in Germany to seek a solution to this intricate problem. It so
happened that a certain Maulana from the famous Aligarh University
advised Sir Ziauddeen to visit Imam Ahmad Raza to seek a solution for
his mathematical problem. But, Sir Ziauddeen, not sounding very
confident said, "What will an ordinary Maulana like Ahmed Raza be able
to solve? He hasn't even gone out of his city to gain knowledge, so it
is obvious that his knowledge is very limited." Nevertheless, after some
convincing, he agreed to visit Ahmad Raza.
When he arrived in Bareilly, he immediately went to Imam Ahmad Raza
(may Allah be pleased with him) presenting the intricate mathematical
problem to him, he said, "I am now going to Germany. I will come back
for the answer, that is, if you do manage to solve it." As he was
speaking, Ahmad Raza was busy writing and listening to him at the same
time. As Sir Ziauddeen was about to leave, Ahmad Raza handed him a sheet
of paper. When Sir Ziauddeen read what was written on this paper, he
realized that it contained the solution to his mathematical problem that
had him so confused. Sir Ziauddeen then said, "Today I believe that
there is something known as Ilm-e-Laduni (inspired knowledge).
Sir Ziauddeen was later recorded to have said about Imam Ahle Sunnat
Shah Ahmad Raza Khan Qadiri (may Allah be pleased with him):
"He was an unassuming man of pleasant manners and morals, had deep
insight into Mathematics, although he was not formerly educated by a
teacher. It was an inner divine-gifted inherent knowledge. My query
pertained to a theory of knotting problems of Mathematics, but his
manner and explanation was spontaneous as if he had already carried out
a research in it. Now, there is nobody so well versed in India. Such a
great scholar, I think, there is none. Allah has bestowed upon him such
a knowledge that is amazing. His insight in the fields of Mathematics,
Euclid, Algebra and Timings is astonishing. A mathematical problem that
I could not solve despite my best of efforts, this learned genius
explained in a few moments."
In Imam Ahmad Raza’s (may Allah be pleased with him) book entitled "Foz-e-
Mubin der Radd-e-Harkat-e Zamin" of 1338 AH/1919 AD in which he has
eruditely analyzed and discussed the most important doctrines of modern
Physics, such as the Law of Gravity, Einstein’s Theory of (general)
Relativity and Newton’s laws of motion. Some of the Eastern and Western
philosophers and scientists of the Modern age have also worked on these
ideas and doctrines, and have deduced different postulations, axioms and
universal truth in the light of their observations and experiments.
In the field of Rationale (philosophy and logic) there are very few rare
scholars who understand his written works. Modern philosophers and
scientists are not acquainted with Arabic and Persian languages, and
their terminology too. As a result they have an incomplete understanding
of the works of Imam Ahmad Raza (may Allah be pleased with him).
Imam Ahmad Raza (may Allah be pleased with him) has written treatises on
medical science. He has maintained the supremacy of Almighty Allah and
explained that the development of science is the pinnacle of our times.
Moreover, he has documented that the Holy Quran is a source of knowledge
that is multidirectional, comprehensive and Universal.
He has discussed Genetics, Modern Embryology in detail, especially fetal
development within three layers. As a Technologist and Engineer, Imam
Ahmad Raza (may Allah be pleased with him) formulated the ultrasound
machine on the basis of light (law of reflection and refraction).
He explained for the first time that Leprosy is a non-communicable
disease in the light of Islamic thought. Now after more than 70 years
medical research has accepted that fact. Dr. Chris Schmotzer of Germany
has commented on the Islamic ideas about leprosy offered by Imam Ahmad
Raza (may Allah be pleased with him):
"As a psychologist he discussed the clinical psychology, and formation
in 'Fatawa Rizzawia' and his 'Malfuzat' (utterances)". Being an educator
Imam Ahmad Raza has discussed in detail the system of education,
syllabus of education and ideas of education. He was one of the greatest
Islamic luminaries of the Indo-Pak subcontinent. His contribution
towards strengthening the foundation of faith and advancing the cause of
education and scientific knowledge stands unexcelled in may aspects.
Imam Ahmad was a unique and strange personality of his age. He was above
all a great universal genius and had a strong mind with encyclopedic
knowledge. His IQ (intelligence quotient), from the very beginning was
200 and remained the same throughout his life.
[The Reformer of the Muslim World by Prof. Dr. Masud Ahmed and
published by Al-Mukhtar Publications, Karachi, Pakistan]
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