COVID-19; Religion vs Science
This new age of globalization has been shaped in such a way that humanity now believes they can outsmart and defeat death owing to the advancement of modern medicine. This was nothing but new age revolution carried out by humanity. Back then in the century before during the industrial revolution, humanity easily succumbs and submitted to death believing that death is natural and inevitable part of human lives. Majority of religious leaders, ideologist and even biologist believed that death is the inevitable part of human life’s and humans are required to live and die when their time is due only through this, life can have its true meaning. The most important and crucial part of human existence begins after humanity have its last breath and that is what is called the eternal journey of soul in religious world when humans will understand the true meaning of their existence and received the reward of their deeds on earth, either to spend the afterlife in eternal salvation or everlasting damnation in the pit of hell.
What is the fate of religion in a world without death?
In a world without death, religion would have made no sense to humanity. Human will live a life of no tomorrow and act independently for the confidence of no afterlife where he or she would probably spend the rest of his or her life in hell or paradise. The world would have looked senseless with no meaning without religion. Humanity have tried their possible best to give meaning to life by waging war to death and defeat it. One of the heroes in history who has tried to defeat death was Gilgamesh of Uruk. In an attempt to seek revenge from death over his late friend ‘Enkidu’ he undertook a journey to the end of the universe killing wildlife, fighting scorpion men. He dispirited the stone giants of Urshanabi and the Charon of the river of the dead after which he found its way to the underworld where he met Uthnapisthim, the last aboriginal survival of the primordial flood. Yet, Gilgamesh couldn’t find death he returned back empty handed only with a take-home that when God created man, he had created death with him and concluded that death is the inevitable destiny of a man. Scared books like Quran and Bible also explained that death is a decree from God and every mortal flesh will die when it’s time.
The birth of scientific revolution contradicts the religion view about death. In the world of science, death is not a decree from God but it is merely a technical problem caused as a result of human errors and to solve a technical problem, technical solution is required. The liver stops functioning because of hepatitis. The brain stops functioning because of hypoglycemia. Leukemia occurs because of cell overgrowth in the blood. And what are the technical solution to all these? Hepatitis can be subdued with viral drugs or administration of vaccine. If there is no enough glucose in the brain, we can increase the intake of carbohydrate rich food to defeat hypoglycemia. Leukemia can be subdued with chemotherapy at the early stage of detection or kill the cells with radiation. With the present day revolution, scientists are trying their possible best trying to give meaning to life by defeating death through investigations (microbiologically, physiologically and genetically). The project of scientific revolution is based on defeating death and immortalizing humans which they are yet to complete.
In their endless struggle to immortalize humanity, scientists have been quite successful. This is evident from the global increased of life expectancy from 40 to 72 years. Until the 20th century, at least more than 50% of children in Africa never reach adulthood mainly because of sickle cell anaemia but. Today, this has greatly decreased. There is now provision of modern medicine to subdue dysentery and other intestinal tract infections caused by pathogenic microbes and so on, Advancement in the world of science led to paradigm shift of liberalists, communists and feminists to this world as opposed their former religion world. They (Liberalists, Communists and Feminists) lost interest in the religious world and believe there is no afterlife where judgment would be made based on one’s deeds believing that the everlasting life can be gotten from science through their research and advancement in modern medicine to detect the cause and cure for death.
Nationalists believe in the afterlife and never for once stop promising that whoever dies for the nation will live forever in the memory of the present day citizen. Nationalism believes that people would be remembered for their good deeds once they died for humanity in serving their country. This is the only modern ideology that still relate partially to the religionist view of death. Humanity will be rewarded in the afterlife according to their deeds on earth.
With the current COVID-19 pandemic, who should we trust?
This is nothing but a moot question and will forever remain arguable between religionists and scientists. For scientist, humanity will try their possible best to defeat death and not surrender to it as the inevitable destiny. When the Black Death diseases occurred in the pre-modern society such as medieval Europe, people feared for their lives and worried over the loss of their loved ones. Religionists told people the disease was a curse from God and a retribution for the sins of humanity, and what they really need was prayer. People gathered together for mass prayer which led to mass infections causing massive death mainly because they were ignorant of their religion and those that practiced religion like Islam are probably few unlike this modern age where Islam is now the second most practiced religion globally.
With the coronavirus pandemic, people now trust science and followed their advice forgotten that the guidelines was from prophet Muhammad who happens to be the father of science. Reported from Sahih Al-Bukhari, one of the hadith of Prophet Muhammad says ‘if you hear of an outbreak or plague in a land, do not enter it; but if the plague breaks out in a place while you are in it, do not leave that place. Evidently from the word of Prophet Muhammad which he has said 1400 years ago, we can see that social distancing was taught by him.
In the world of science, personal hygiene and cleanliness was also advised by healthcare workers globally in the war against coronavirus pandemic. This is also intrinsic parts of Islam which is evident from ‘Wudu’_the Islamic ritual for cleansing and purification of some parts of the body mainly the feet, hands, face and head before the five daily prayers. Religiously, people are required to be cautious of their environment and to always wash their hands before prayers, meals and after touching any surfaces as prevention against any form of impurities.
Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) offered humanity specific guidelines to navigate threats to community in case of any disease outbreak and these includes Quarantine, Travel bans, restriction of selected movement, halting of visitation and social isolation are among the precautionary and preventive measures of the holy prophet which is evident from one of the authentic hadith which says. “Fear for one’s safety is a genuine Islamic reason to forgo some of the fundamental Islamic actions and rituals.” All the measures being provided by the scientists has already been recommended by Prophet Muhammad, it is just like coming to a party after the party is over and the only thing left to do is to wash the dishes. Scientists and healthcare workers are building on the word of Prophet Muhammad. This is in indication of total reliance of science on religion. However, in the world of science the rat race of defeating death still continues but in the religion world, the party is over and death is inevitable thereby leaving the chasm between religion and science’s world vacant. Perhaps in century to come or more, science will be able to achieve their illusory dream of conquering death.
The Islamic Rupublican of Iran, mosques all over the world discouraging people from visiting are merely following the instructions of the Prophet of Allah. Even though biologist and healthcare workers advocate for this, but the question is this.
Has the scientific revolution been in existence 1400 years ago when Prophet Muhammad made all his recommendation? NO
Therefore the world of science is dependent on the religion world.
What will be the greatest take away after the pandemic is over with the readiness of vaccine?
The major take-away of humanity will be that we need to invest on our healthcare sector and double our efforts in protecting human lives even though we can’t immortalize it but we can protect it from any form of deadly diseases. We need to build more hospitals, laboratory and recruit more healthcare workers like doctors, nurses and microbiologists. We need to invest more money in researching of submicroscopic pathogens and developing of appropriate treatment. We need to be prepared against any future pandemics, epidemic or endemic. After the pandemic, I believe there will be a massive increase in healthcare budget and life sciences not an increase in the allowance of members of house of assembly or philosophy.
In the religion world the crisis should teach us to get closer to our Lord for the pandemic is nothing but one of the army of Allah unleashed onto humanity as a punishment for their sins. Therefore, we need to change our ways of life and stop all act Allah has forbidden us from.
The present crisis of COVID-19 pandemic might indeed make stampedes aware of the non-achievable dream of science in defeating death and immortalizing human. With the increasing daily deaths occurring globally by the day and despite the rat race of science in curtailing the pandemic and reduce the mass death, we can now believe that death is inevitable destiny of man. Science cannot solve the riddle of human existence but can buy us time to grabble with if God wish. What we do with that time is up to us and that’s when the concept of nationalism comes in. ‘Humans will be remembered for what they’ve done for their fellow humans’ either good or bad, our deeds will speak for us when we are gone.
