Ishtiaque Ufuque's Blog
ایک شاعرانہ تعلّی
٢٠١٩میں کہی گئی ایک نظم ۔ ایک شاعرانہ تعلّی , کانٹ اور ہیگل سے معذرت کے ساتھ ۔
ایک شاعرانہ تعلّی
کام لوں عقل کے ناخن سے ذرا میں کچھ پل
پھر کوئی عقدہءِ مشکل نہ رہے لا ینحل
میں جو آجاؤں تجسّس پہ ، نیا باب کھلے
فکر و تحقیق کی دنیا میں مچادوں ہلچل
تجھکو دعوے ہیں مرے سامنے دانائی کے؟
!طفلِ مکتب ہیں مرے آگے یہ کانٹ اور ہیگل
Chemistry and the Nature of Knowledge
At its core, chemistry is a study of transformation—transformation of matter to be specific - but in this context, chemistry itself becomes a kind of epistemological inquiry into the nature of knowledge and understanding. How do we know what we know about the world, and how is this knowledge itself transformed over time?; how does it get modified day by day.
The scientific process of discovery, and especially chemistry, resembles the process of refining thought. Modern chemists refine raw ideas into clearer understandings of the material world, with the reason and experimentation coupled with the acquisition of knowledge.
Knowledge itself, in this manner, is like a chemical reaction. It doesn't spontaneously arise but through a series of interactions, experiments, and refinements. Ideas combine, bond, and react in new ways as we approach them with different methods, tools, and frameworks. Sometimes what we thought was the final or fixed truth turns out to be just a step to further transformations. Just as an initially stable molecule might undergo a reaction that radically changes its structure, so too can the most firmly held ideas be transformed or even overturned by new discoveries.
Chemistry shows us how knowledge never stops but just keeps on rearranging in a new order, as the atoms that constitute our universe.
This reminds me of the philosophical concept of epistemic humility: we never truly know, and what we think we know today will change tomorrow.
Chemistry as Art and Transformation
That, chemistry, the cold science of atoms and molecules, is inherently tied to creativity is a concept that is often overlooked in the study of science but invites us to re-imagine chemistry as a very creative discipline, a medium to control the future of matter in much the same way as a sculptor molds clay or a composer arranges sound.
Every chemical reaction is, in a way, an act of creation. While the chemicals or elements follow certain rules in chemical reactions, the result is a new arrangement, a different form. The reactants in a chemical equation are like raw materials waiting to be brought into harmony, whereas products stand as the consequent outcome of that artistic expression. So, just like a painter mixes the pigments to gain new tints and shades or a poet combines particular words to convey deeper meanings, chemists combine different compounds and elements in a new fashion. After all, the whole endeavor of developing a new drug in the laboratory, a synthetic polymer, or an intricate enzyme is striking in its likeness to an act of artistic expression. Every reaction has both a structure and immediateness; it follows known laws but is also full of unknowns.
Chemistry requires us to concede a degree of control. The chemist, like the artist who begins with a vision but is oftentimes surprised by the behavior of materials, works with substances that only reveal their nature through the reaction. We start with the first idea, the first intention; something entirely different emerges out of the reaction, challenging our expectations. It surprises us not as failure, but rather as an insight to broaden our perspective on what is possible. The unpredictability of a chemical reaction makes chemistry an art that is both carefully considered yet full of creative potential.
Chemists see the universe as both structured and generative at the same time. When there are chaos (disorder) and rules (order), they are not seen as oppositional, but rather as co-existing aspects of one dynamic realization. Even the most commonplace reactions can hold hidden beauty and latent potential (possibility), making the purely physical science of chemistry, an aesthetic experience. To me, chemistry is a form of expression just as painting and poetry are.
We tend to look for durability, for the still, but how easy is it? Sukooon muhal hai qudrat ke karkhane mein/Sibat aek taghaiyyur ko hai zamane mein. The universe never stays static. It is always changing to reach its new form. And it's this constant movement, that characterizes the workshop of nature - and it's this change that is its one static feature. More importantly, what is life but an existence filled with constancy?
Furqat-e-aftab mein khaati hai paich-o-taab subah/Chashm-e-shafaq hai khoon fashaan akhtar-e-shaam ke liye;Rehti hai Qais-e-Roz ko Laila-e-Shaam ki Hawas/Akhtar-e-Subah muztarib taab-e-dawam ke liye;Kehta tha qutb-e-aasman qaafla-e-najoom se/Humraho, mein taras gaya lutf-e-kharaam ke liye;Soton ko nadiyon ka shauq, behar ka naddiyon ko ishq/Mauj-e-behar ko tapish mah-e-tamaam ke liye;Husn-e-Azal ke parda-e-lala O gul mein hai nihan/kehte hain beqarar hai jalwa-e-aam ke liye;Raaz-e-hayat pooch le Khizr khajasta gaam se/zinda har aik cheez hai koshish-e-na tamaam se
The winding of morning is in yearning for the moon/The eye of twilight turns blood shot waiting for the evening star; The day lusts for evening like Qais for Laila,/Day star is restless for unending brilliance; Said the leader, polar star, to the star caravan/Fellow travellers, I pine for the pleasure of walking; Rivers are the interest of springs and seas are the love of rivers/The tide of seas burns for the full moon; The eternal beauty which is hidden in the veil of Tulips and the roses/It is said is restless for the common display;
Everything in nature changes. We too are constantly changing - developing and evolving day by day. Such constant change in our life is the basis of becoming. We go through different stages of life: from a child, to a young adult, old age, from life, to death.
The Glorious Quran speaks of the reality of constant change. It alludes to the perpetual nature of existence through the oaths sworn by the twilight, the night and the moon. It swears by the twilight glow, which is only a momentary beauty, a transition between day and night. As the Quranic verse (84:16) states, "So I swear by the twilight glow." Interpretation states that this twilight symbolizes how nothing lasts in the world; it is a change itself. This theme of constant change is yet again rammed home by the night and the moon in the Quran. The night, with its dark covers, represents the unknown mysteriousness of things. Here is what the Quran says: "And [by] the night and what it envelops" (84:17). It is, actually as if the night was not just about darkness; it's kind of an ability of life to renew itself. The moon, too, is a symbol of change and renewal. As the Quranic verse (84:18) states, "And by the moon when it is full." The moon goes through phases, waxing and waning, a cyclical process that mirrors the flow and ebb of life. The Quranic verse at 84:19 says, "You will surely experience state after state." This tells us that life is movement, not a place.
This idea of continuous change is further highlighted by the Quran when it says that after death too, there is no stasis. As indicated by the Quranic verse 84:19, there are innumerable stages that a soul goes through after death, right from the barzakh, the state after death and before Resurrection, to the Resurrection, the Plain of Assembly, the Reckoning, and finally, the meting out of rewards and punishments.
To address the disbelief of those who deny the existence of the Hereafter, the Quran employs this masterful technique: these allusions are not just poetic devices but are deeply theological statements in the Quran. They remind us that just as we pass through different states of being here, so will we pass through different states in the Hereafter. The Hereafter, with its diverse realms and experiences, will be as real and tangible as the world we inhabit now. Using these celestial phenomena, the Quran presents the idea of change and transformation. This divine revelation challenges the limited vision of mankind and brings to their thought the expansiveness of the cosmos and infinite possibilities of the Hereafter.
