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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]