Science without heart
Feb 22nd, 2009 by admin
Science without the heart’s glow is pure evil,
for then its light is darkness over sea and land,
its rouge renders the whole world black and blind,
its springtide scatters the leaves of all being,
sea, plain, mountain, quiet garden and villa
are ravaged by the bombs of its aeroplanes.
It is its fire that burns the heart of Europe,
from it springs the joy of raiding and robbing;
it turns topsy-turvey the course of the days,
despoils the peoples of their capital.
Its power becomes the faithful ally of shaytan;
light becomes fire by association with fire.
To slay shaytan is indeed a difficult task,
since he is hidden deep within the depths of the heart;
better it is to make him a true Muslim,
better to smite him dead with the sword of the Qur’an.
God save us from majesty that is without beauty,
God save us from separation without union!
science without love is a demonic thing,
science together with love is a thing divine;
science and wisdom without love are a corpse,
reason is an arrow that never pierced the target.
-Allama Iqbal, Javid Nama, trans. Arberry
