How Neuroscience Explains a 1,400-Year-Old Quranic Verse Quran 28:56
How Neuroscience Explains a 1,400-Year-Old Quranic Verse: Explore the fascinating link between Quran 28:56 and modern neuroscience. Does Allah create the ‘religious brain‘? Discover how divine guidance and cognitive science intertwine in this deep analysis of belief, atheism, and the human mind.
Does Quran 28:56 mean we have no free will? If Allah guides whom He wills, can non-believers blame Him? Discover how neuroscience and Islamic theology answer this ancient dilemma, explaining divine decree and human accountability.
Table of Contents
The Believing Brain: How Quran 28:56 and Modern Neuroscience Illuminate Divine Guidance
“Indeed, [O Muḥammad], you do not guide whom you like, but Allāh guides whom He wills. And He is most knowing of the [rightly] guided.” (Quran 28:56)
This profound verse, revealed over 1,400 years ago, presents a concept that has intrigued theologians for centuries: the ultimate source of guidance is divine, not human. In our modern age, a new field of study—neuroscience—is offering a startlingly relevant perspective on this ancient truth. The new field of study called “religious brain” doesn’t go against this principle in the Quran. Instead, it makes us think about the beautiful and complicated ways that Allah’s will works.
Quran 28:56: The Primacy of Divine Will
This verse was given at a certain time to comfort Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), who really wanted his close relatives to accept iman. But its lesson is for everyone. In it, two basic rules are laid out:
Limitations of humans: No one can be forced to follow the right path, not even the most powerful leaders. We can try to convince, reason with, and love them, but they have to accept us in the end.
Special favor from God: Giving advice is a gift from Allah, who is very smart and knows everything. He knows the way each soul will go in the end, what it’s really like, and how open its heart is.
A question that will never go away is: How does Allah want help? On a spiritual level, the Qur’an has a lot to offer. These answers can be found through signs, thought, and making people more open.. Neuroscience has now given us a way to look into a possible physical part of this process: the brain.
Neuroscience and the “Brain of Belief”: Correlation, Not Causation
Recent neuroimaging studies, such as the ones you cited, show that religious believers and atheists process information differently. It should be noted that this study does not pinpoint a single “God spot,” but rather delineates various cognitive styles:
The Intuitive Pathway (Frequently Associated with Belief):
This mode of thinking involves “bottom-up” processing, which relies on emotion, empathy, and intuition. Regions of the brain involved in self-representation and reward are stimulated. For a believer, a religious belief may look intuitively valid and emotionally compelling.
The Analytical Pathway (Frequently Linked to Atheism):
This approach uses “top-down” processing, which strongly activates the prefrontal cortex for critical analysis and reasoning. This technique can displace intuitive impulses, requiring empirical proof before accepting a proposition.
Neuroscientists emphasize that the connection is a correlation rather than a cause. An individual’s life experiences, culture, and upbringing have a substantial impact on their brain circuits, much like any fundamental inclination.
Synthesizing Revelation and Science: A Divine Design
So how does this new science finding fit in with the verse from the Quran? It gives us a way to think about the words “And He is most knowing of the [rightly] guided.”
Allah, as the Creator (Al-Khaliq), is very wise and made the human brain so that it can change in amazing ways. Intuitive understanding and analytical skepticism were both made possible by him. Different kinds of people are not flaws; they are a part of what God made.
Getting help from your intuition:
There are intuitive ways that Allah may guide some people. This could be a deep sense of connection during prayer, an overwhelming sense of peace from remembrance (dhikr), or a deep understanding of spiritual lessons.
Help through intelligence:
The verse doesn’t say that Allah stops some people from getting advice. Instead, it says that He gives it to people whose hearts and minds are open to it, in the way that they were made to receive it.
Allah knows which key fits which lock. He knows whether a soul will respond better to an emotional appeal or a logical proof. The one whose heart is open to guidance—whether through intuition or intellectual surrender—will find it. The verse does not state that Allah prevents guidance from reaching some; rather, it states that He grants it to those whose hearts and minds are receptive, in the way they are uniquely designed to receive it.
Addressing the Dilemma: “It’s Not My Fault, Allah Didn’t Will It”
A popular argument comes from reading Quran 28:56 quickly: “A person who doesn’t believe in Allah can say it’s not their fault if guidance is only up to Allah.” They were never picked to be led. This is a wrong view of divine decree (qadar) that takes away people’s freedom and responsibility, which is something Islam strongly opposes.
The neuroscience we’ve looked at helps us understand the Islamic answer to this question in a strong way. It is not up to chance that Allah does what He does; He knows everything.
The neuroscience we’ve explored provides a powerful lens to understand the Islamic answer to this.
Allah’s Will is Not Arbitrary; It is Based on Perfect Knowledge
The key is in the second part of the verse: “and He knows best who are ˹fit to be˺ guided.” Allah’s will is not a random selection. It is an act of grace bestowed in accordance with His eternal knowledge of who is genuinely open and receptive to guidance. He does not create someone condemned to disbelief; He knows who will, by their own free choices, choose to close their heart.
Think of the brain’s cognitive styles:
Is an analytical person forced to be skeptical? No, they naturally incline towards it, but they still choose what to do with that skepticism—to seek answers with an open mind or to arrogantly dismiss all spiritual concepts.
Is an intuitive person forced to believe? No, they naturally incline towards faith, but they still choose to deepen that faith through good actions or to neglect it.
The “Fault” Lies in the Choices Made Within Our Design
Allah, in His wisdom, created the spectrum of human cognition. He knows which individual, with their specific predispositions (a more active analytical network or a more dominant intuitive network), will ultimately submit to the truth when it is presented to them.
The “fault” or accountability of a person lies not in their initial predisposition, but in their response to it and to the signs of Allah.
- The analytical atheist is not blamed for their brain’s activity. They are accountable for whether they use their analytical gift to seek the truth about creation or to dismiss it without earnest investigation. Allah guides those who sincerely seek.
- The intuitive believer is not praised for their brain’s activity alone. They are rewarded for choosing to nurture that intuition into genuine, practiced faith.
In essence, Allah’s will in guidance is the perfect alignment of His grace with a heart that has, through its own free will, chosen to be receptive. He knew that heart would make that choice, and so He wills the guidance to flow. He knows the heart that will choose arrogance and rejection, and so that guidance is withheld as a consequence of that person’s own choice.
Conclusion: Free Will in a Created Framework
This does not negate human free will. We are still accountable for our choices—to seek, to reflect, to be open, or to be arrogant. Neuroscience shows us our predispositions, but it does not dictate our destiny. The Quran constantly calls people to “think,” “reflect,” and “ponder,” engaging both the heart and the mind.
From a final point of view, Quran 28:56 and modern neuroscience together show a Creator who is kind and knows everything about everything He made. He did not make identical robots, but rather different people with different mental maps. We receive His direction through the unique neural pathways He created. It is tailored, precise, and all-encompassing.
For believers, the lesson is one of humility: we can’t say who is “guided” because we don’t know how God works. It gives us hope to know that God knows everything about His creation and guides it through ways we are only starting to understand.
Quran:(49:13) Human beings, We created you all from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another. Verily the noblest of you in the sight of Allah is the most God-fearing of you. Surely Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware.
Disclaimer:
This article combines ideas from theology with new scientific study. It’s meant to help you think and understand, not to be a final philosophical decision. For specific religious issues, you should always talk to religious experts.
FAQ: How the Believing Brain Works, Divine Guidance, and Brain Science
Q1: How Neuroscience Explains a 1,400-Year-Old Quranic Verse:Quran 28:56, What does really mean?
A: This verse makes a point of saying that divine guidance to the right way is not something that people can do. It was revealed to comfort Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), making it clear that his job was to deliver the word, but it was up to Allah to decide if people would accept it. Allah gives advice based on His perfect knowledge of who is truly open.
Q2: Does this mean that advice is already set? Do we not have free will?
A: This is an important detail. Islam says that people have free will and are responsible for their actions. The verse doesn’t say that Allah guides people for no reason; it says that He guides “whom He wills” based on what He knows about “those who are fit to be guided.” Allah knows all the choices we will make on our own, so His will is in line with those decisions. He knows who will choose to open their heart to the truth on their own, and He helps them do that. Your choices determine where you’ll end up; Allah already knows what those decisions will be.
Q3: What does neuroscience have to do with a verse from the Quran that talks about faith?
A: According to modern neuroscience, divine decree might work in Allah’s creation by looking at it through this view. The study shows that our brains process knowledge about what we believe in various manners, such as intuitively and analytically. This means that the “fitness” for guidance stated in the Quran might be shown by the unique mental and emotional traits that Allah has put into each person.
Q4: Does biology say that the brains of atheists are different?
A: Not in a structural or “hardwired” way. Brain scans show that people’s activities and ways of thinking are not all the same. Studies show that religious people tend to use their intuitive and emotional processes more, while atheists may use their analytical and critical networks more when judging religious ideas. This is more of a trend than a hard and fast rule. It depends on society and experience.
Q5: Does the word “analytical” mean I can’t believe? Is it not my fault?
A: No way, buddy. This is a very important point. An inclination is not a fate. An critical mind is a gift from Allah that should be used to think about how He made the world, how the universe works, and how faith can be proven logically. It’s not “fault” to be critical; it’s how you use that trait, like whether you really try to find the truth or just brush it off without really looking into it. No matter what kind of thinking style someone has, Allah leads those who seek Him.
Q6: Does this mean that religion is just a biological process? The faith seems less sacred because of it.
A: Neuroscience talks about the brain’s connections with thought. The brain is like the hardware that the soul’s software runs on. The fact that brain scans can show signs of love, thanks, or fear does not make those feelings less real. In the same way, the fact that spiritual events involve biology doesn’t mean they aren’t divine. It shows how beautifully Allah designed a system in which the spiritual and the physical are connected.
Q7: What does this mean for Muslims in real life?
A: It makes people more humble and trusting. We can’t say how helpful other people might be because only Allah knows what’s in their hearts and minds. It’s our job to get the word across in a smart and polite way, using methods that will connect with different types of people (emotionally for some, logically for others). That being said, we believe that Allah will lead those who are truly looking in the best way for them.
Q8: Where can I find out more about this subject?
A: It’s called “neurotheology” or the “neuroscience of religion.” You can look for these words to find books and academic studies written by people like Dr. Andrew Newberg. Always think critically about the subject and be able to tell the difference between real science and speculation.