The Prophet Muhammad A simple Guide to his Life
Studying the Prophet’s Life in the Light of his Message
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This separation of religion and science is ably
illustrated by the well-known incident of the
pollination of dates which was narrated by Musa
ibn Talha on the authority of his father and
recorded in the
Sahih
of Imam Muslim:
I was with the Prophet when he passed by some
people who had climbed up to the top of some date
palms. The Prophet enquired as to what they were
doing. He was told that they were pollinating the
trees in order to fertilize them. The Prophet said, ‘I
don’t think this will benefit them.’ When people
learned of the Prophet’s comment, they stopped the
practice of pollination. The yield, however, was
very low that year. When the Prophet came to know
of this, he said, “If they benefit from pollination,
they should continue with this practice. I had only
made a guess and formed an opinion. There is no
need to follow my opinion in such matters. If, on
the other hand, I say anything about God, it must be
adhered to. Because I never say anything untrue
when I am speaking of God.”
The Prophet’s advice amounted to de-linking
religion and science. In this way scientific research
