![]() ![]() Bypassing the usual quagmire that results when religion tries to disprove science, he instead imagines the two coexisting. Malik cleverly links this example of “time dilation” to quantum physics’ concepts of time and space while also invoking metaphors of resurrection. Another key parable concerns some young men who take refuge inside a cave and, Rip Van Winkle–like, emerge to find that centuries have passed. As Malik observes, this is like the journey of faith: the big picture is usually hidden from mortals. For Moses, it’s a lesson in unquestioning obedience, even when God’s will doesn’t make sense. Moses’ companion on the quest for knowledge, Khidr, impairs a boat, kills a boy, and then-in a sudden merciful turn-repairs a crumbling wall. While this might be a real place, this is also a mystical journey to the union of heart and mind. A central story has Moses-the Quran’s most-mentioned prophet-setting out to find the meeting place of two seas. ![]() Such watery metaphors pervade the author’s language as he expounds on various parables in the Surah Kahf. ![]() “Having lived a life immersed in physical sciences, I now find myself drawn by an irresistible appeal to the mystical shorelines of the hidden sea,” Malik ( A Perspective on the Signs of Al-Quran, 2010) writes. A thorough examination of Chapter 18 of the Quran exemplifies allegorical interpretation and reconciles common dichotomies like heart and mind, science and religion. ![]()
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