Taskhir, fine-tuning, intelligent design and the scientific appreciation of nature

Islam & Science, Summer, 2004 by Adi Setia

The concept of taskhir in the Qur'an refers to the easily observable fact that nature, in both its cosmic and biospheric dimensions, has been constrained by Allah to render service and benefit unto humankind. In modern cosmological terms, taskhir refers to the high degree of fine-tuning of the design-parameters of the universe for the support of life on earth, and ultimately, conscious and intelligent human life. Through taskhir, the perfection of Allah's wisdom (hikmah) is manifested in the phenomenal world, and His Grace (fadl) realized for humanity. The service rendered to mankind by the Divine subjugation of nature is ultimately not only physical and material in nature, but also intellectual, moral and metaphysical in its significance: that humanity would be brought to recognize, acknowledge and glorify their Creator, and thus to realize fully the enduring transcendent meaning of their fleeting, phenomenal life on earth. Axiologically, this means that Islamic science is less utilitarian than intellecto-moral, and hence, the "outer" utilitarian dimension of science is to be subsumed under, and guided by, its "inner" intellecto-moral dimension, and not vice-versa.

Keywords: taskhir, intelligent design, fine-tuning, specified complexity, irreducible complexity, al-ni'am al-afaqiyyah, al-ni'am al-anfusiyyah, goals of Islamic Science.

Introduction: The Concept of Taskhir in the Qur'an

Taskhir is the verbal noun of "sakhkhara," which means to bring something into service, to compel something to be of service to something else, to make something subservient. In the classical dictionary Mukhtar al-Sihah, "sakhkharahu taskhiran" is clarified as "kallafahu 'amalan bi la ujrah", "to charge someone with a task without remuneration"; or "kallafahu ma la yuriduhu wa qaharahu", "to charge someone/something with a task not of his/its own accord and to compel him/it to do it." Thus "anything that submits to you and obeys you, or is ready for you, has most certainly been made subservient to you." (1)

In the Qur'an, taskhir refers to Allah compelling the heavens and the earth to be of service to humankind that they may consciously appreciate His manifold blessings upon them and thereby give thanks to Him. Among the many verses of the Qur'an concerning taskhir, the following five may be noted: (2)

1. Allah is He who has created the heavens and the earth, and caused water to descend from the sky, thereby producing fruits as food for you, and made the ships to be of service unto you, that they may run upon the seas at His command, and has made of service unto you the rivers, and made the sun and the moon constant in their courses to be of service unto you, and has made of service unto you the night and the day.

2. See you not how Allah has made subservient unto you whatsoever is in the skies and whatsoever is in the earth and has loaded you with His favors both without and within? Yet of mankind is he who disputes concerning Allah without knowledge or guidance or a scripture giving light.

3. Allah is He who has made the sea to be of service unto you that the ships may run thereon by His command, and that you may seek of His bounty; and that haply you may be thankful; and has made of service unto you whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth; it is all from Him. Lo! herein are portents for people who reflect.

4. Have you not seen how Allah has made all that is in the earth subservient unto you? And the ships run upon the sea by His command, and He holds back the heaven from falling on the earth unless by His leave. Lo! Allah is, for mankind, full of pity, merciful.

5. Allah is He Who has raised up the heavens without visible supports, then mounted the Throne, and compelled the sun and the moon to be of service, each runs unto an appointed term; He ordered the course; He detailed the relevations, that haply you may be certain of the meeting with your Lord.

Taskhir in al-Fakhr al-Razi's Mafatih al-Ghayb

Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (544-606/1149-1209) was not only an accomplished mutakallim and mufassir (3) but also an eminent philosopher and scientist. As we shall see, al-Razi's holistically rational explication of taskhir is quite sophisticated, rigorous and elegant. He shows a philosophico-scientific approach to the understanding of Qur'anic verses that can have conceptual and empirical import for re-elucidating the Islamic worldview, or ru'yat al-Islam li'l-wujud (4) in contemporary intellectual discourse. As expounded by Professor al-Attas, this worldview is "the Islamic vision of reality and truth, which is a metaphysical survey of the visible as well as the invisible worlds including the perspective of life as a whole"; or "the vision of the totality of being and existence projected by Islam". (5)

In his Mafatih al-Ghayb, al-Razi gives a metaphysical explanation of verse 2 of surah al-Ra'd, in which the sun and the moon are mentioned as being "compelled to be of service" by Allah (wa sakhkhara al-shams w'l-qamar). (6) He says that the celestial bodies (al-ajram al-falakiyyah), including the sun, the moon and the stars, are like all other material bodies (al-ajsam) in their receptivity to motion (al-harakah) and rest (al-sukun). The fact that the celestial bodies are in perpetual motion when it is equally possible, from the metaphysical point of view, for them to be in perpetual rest, indicates that motion has been determined for them, and not rest. Metaphysically, the two physical states, motion and rest, are equally possible of being actualized in the external world, and so, there is no intrinsic reason why one physical state (motion) should have preponderance over the other (rest). The physical, actual fact that the celestial bodies are in a state of motion and not rest, even though both modes of being are equally possible for them metaphysically, is clear indication that their motion is not of their own accord, but of the determination (takhsis) of a transcendent determiner (mukhassis) who has determined for them the state of motion instead of rest.