Full Lecture Transcript (Cleaned)
The Question — 5:41
A high school student asked: someone told him that Einstein's theory of relativity — specifically that matter cannot be created or destroyed — is kufr (disbelief). How should he respond?
Yasir Qadhi's Response
Be careful what you hear, and be careful what you accept.
Einstein was not doing theology. He was doing science. His special theory of relativity (dealing with how physics applies equally to objects moving at the same speed) and E=mc² are about physics, not about creation theology.
Somebody who tells a student that this is kufr needs to slow down.
The Islamic Framework on Science
The laws of physics are the laws of physics. The laws of chemistry are the laws of chemistry. A Muslim can apply them with one simple caveat: if Allah wills, He can change them. I don't think any believing scientist would object to that.
Allah generally allows the course of nature to proceed according to its laws. This is precisely why a miracle is a miracle — it is rare precisely because Allah normally does not override the laws of nature.
So there is nothing inherently wrong with Einstein's theory.
A Warning to Muslims
Before moving on: please, my dear intelligent Muslims — do not make a mockery of our religion. Learn from history. Learn what Christianity did to science and do not do the same. Look at how foolish certain modern religious groups sound — like the creationists who claim the world is only 6,000 years old and that dinosaur bones were placed by God to test faith. We should not sound like them.
Ibn Taymiyya's Framework
Ibn Taymiyya wrote 10 volumes on reconciling reason and revelation (aql and naql). His core argument is beautiful:
Allah created the creation. Allah sent the Quran. Both are from Allah. How can there be a conflict between them?
If you perceive a conflict, the conflict is in your understanding of one of the two. Either you understood the Quran incorrectly, or you understood science incorrectly. An actual conflict between true science and true Quranic meaning is impossible.
As a scholar of Islam speaking in the role of scholar — not as a physicist or biologist — I firmly believe this. Every person should know their realm. Let the scholar of Islam speak as a scholar of Islam, and let the Muslim scientist speak within the framework the Quran allows.
Bottom line: There is nothing wrong with Einstein's theory of relativity.