Professor Jackie Ying (born in 1966), a Singapore based researcher of nano-technology, together with her team, has developed the quickest testing tool for the novel Corona virus (Covid-19).
She was born in Taiwan. As a child, she migrated to Singapore with her parents and went to school there. She is a convert to Islam and says:
“If you truly study science, you have to believe in a Creator.”
Other Religions Made Me Curious
Prof. Jackie Ying spent her primary and secondary education in Singapore. She studied in a Chinese stream primary school.
Then, she did not have any Malay friends, the ethnic group usually associated with Islam in Singapore. She went to a more culturally diverse secondary school. It was then that she became aware that there were actually different ways of believing.
Prof. Jackie said that it was then that she became very curious about religion. “I always wanted to know about the purpose and meaning of life. And in religion, we find a lot of answers to these questions.”
There Must Be a Creator
Since her secondary school time, she studied about religion and also Islam. And converted to Islam in her thirties.
When asked about the connection between Islam and science, Prof. Jackie Ying answers that Islam teaches us to seek knowledge. With scientific knowledge, she said, we can be very useful to our societies.
But, most importantly: “Scientific knowledge points again and again to the existence of God. So, I don’t think that the two [religion and science] have a problem with each other.”
Being a committed scientist helped Prof. Jackie to see the Truth, the Creator, behind the things she studied.
Islam is Simple
Prof. Jackie Ying further tells that it was not difficult for her to accept Islam. Different to other religions, Islam is a simple religion, she explains. And this simplicity made it easy for her to accept Islam. Other religions, Prof. Jackie explains, have complicated concepts that are difficult to accept.
However, besides this simplicity, people will be very much surprised to see the amazing knowledge inside Islam.
She said:
“When I first opened the Quran, it was clear to me that this was a very, very special and extraordinary book.”
Serving Humanity
After performing her first umrah, Prof. Jackie started covering her head. This shows her connection to Islam and her belief in Allah to everybody. She is also active doing dawah in Singapore.
As a scientist, Ying has received dozens of awards and has published hundreds of high ranking academic articles in her field. She currently heads the NanoBio Lab at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research in Singapore. She was nominated as one of the 500 World’s most influential Muslims.
Prof. Jackie Ying is a beautiful example of how Muslims contribute to present day development, research and science.
Seeing Allah behind the ‘scene’ provides the humbleness it needs to push further, to contribute to and serve humanity.