The Quran describes this phenomenon in the most lucid manner:
"Hallowed is He, Who created pairs in all things, those that grow from the earth and of themselves, and what they know not." (36:36)
"And all things have We created in pairs in order that you may reflect on it." (51:49)
It was believed that only animal life was divided into two genders, masculine and feminine, then this phenomenon of complementarity was found in plants and vegetation. In fact, this reality exists in every creation, animate as well as inanimate.
The Quranic verses that describe the dual nature of all created things, uses the term ‘zawjain’ (complementary pairs) are: 11:40, 13:3, 23:27, 31:10, 36:36, 51:49 and 53:45.
The word 'zawjain' is translated into the English language as 'pairs.' In scientific literature its meaning is extended to incorporate such concepts as 'duality', 'complementarity', 'opposites', 'inverses' and several other concepts reflecting conjugate and/or reciprocal properties.
In the Tafsir of Ibn Kathir the following pairs of creation are mentioned: the heavens and earth, sun and moon, light and dark, night and day, land and oceans, life and death, heaven and hell. Ibn Kathir elaborates that, "Every aspect of creation has the pair characteristic, extending even to the animals and plants. This is in order that we may reflect and know that Allah, The Creator, is One and there is nothing that can be associated with Him."
Many times the duality principle can be identified immediately by the terms used, e.g. action-reaction and inhaling-exhaling. In general, however, terms that are in a dual relationship cannot be identified without knowing the science behind their definitions. For example; chlorophyll-hemoglobin, electron-proton, evaporation-condensation stand in a dual relationship with each other but their descriptive terms do not disclose that relationship.
This “duality principle" characterizes several laws and operations found in almost all areas of study, in scientific disciplines and in the social and behavioral sciences.
In Mathematics, addition and subtraction, multiplication and division, raising to a power and taking roots are dual operations. Similar principles can be found in Geometry, Algebra and Calculus.
In Physics, action and reaction, attraction and repulsion, positive and negative charges, North and South Pole of a magnet are examples of duality. Particle and wave theories are also dual and/or complementary principles. Light is both a wave and a particle. Modern day physicists no longer argue about the complementary characteristic of matter and energy, they accept duality. Without the opposites of electrons and protons a physical Universe would not be possible.
In Biology the functions of chlorophyll and hemoglobin, inhaling and exhaling, muscle contraction and extension, birth and death are known to have opposite functions.
In Philosophy and Political Science the concepts of liberalism and conservatism, thesis vs. antithesis are opposites and also fall into the dual category.
In Psychology this challenge of opposites presents itself as the root of all problems, with the human being’s attempt to reconcile between satisfaction and contentment on one hand, and eliminating suffering and pain on the other. We are placed in this position of continually having to make choices. “The satisfaction of our needs, and the choices by which we attain that satisfaction, constitute our prime motivation. Together they spur the development of our faculty of reasoning and the understanding of cause and effect…. So Nature, from the outset, drives us towards the development of our discriminatory capabilities through the necessity of having to make choices… This constant flux of attraction and repulsion, of push and pull, is the essential dynamism upon which everything in this existence depends and is balanced.” Haeri
Understanding duality as an axiom makes it possible to view human problems in their fullness from several perspectives. Our study of duality gives a view of the world that is more comprehensive, organized and unified. Co-operation, co-existence and collaboration become the focus and not a ‘me against them’ or ‘better than thou’ stance.
There is nothing wrong with an electron or right with a proton - they simply are. Similarly there is nothing right with a man or wrong with a woman. Most opposites are relative and observer dependant. An observer who remains mentally and emotionally blocked cannot see balance and symmetry of the whole, nor can he appreciate the necessity of both, hence his insistence on making one better than the other.
Opposites as a function of duality are the basis of the Universe. One cannot exist without the other, nor can we appreciate one without the other. Would we be capable of understanding pleasure if we did not experience pain? And the same goes for male & female, happiness & sadness, health & disease, remembering & forgetting, new & old, spirit & body, strength & weakness, success & failure, beauty & ugliness, youth & old age, etc… all expressions of this complementary duality that works toward forming a complex, inter-related and beautifully balanced whole.
No opposite can be known without its opposite.
Having suffered a blow you will know a caress.
Rumi
Uzma Mazhar © 2002
published in www.crescentlife.com
