Islam and Science

Worship your Guardian Lord/ Who created you .../ Who has made the earth your couch,/ And the heavens your canopy; ...
-- Sura 2:21-22

It is He Who created/ The Night and the Day,/ And the sun and the moon:/ All (the celestial bodies)/ Swim along, each in its/ Rounded course.
-- Sura 21:33

Then We placed him/ As (a drop of) sperm/ In a place of rest,/ Firmly fixed; Then We made the sperm/ Into a clot of congealed blood;/ Then of that clot We made/ A (foetus) lump; then We/ Made out of that lump/ Bones and clothed the bones/ With flesh; then We developed/ Out of it another creature./ So blessed be Allah,/ The Best to create!.
-- Sura 23:13-14

It is not permitted/ To the Sun to catch up/ The Moon, nor can/ The Night outstrip the Day:/ Each (just) swims along/ In (its own) orgit/ (According to Law).
-- Sura 36:40

O ye assembly of Jinns/ And men! If it be/ Ye can pass beyond/ The zones of the heavens/ And the earth, pass ye!/ Not without authority/ Shall ye be able to pass!.
-- Sura 55:33

Gallery

0

1 2 3

4 5 6

7 8 9

Notes

The Islamization of Science: Four Muslim Positions, Developing an Islamic Modernity -- from a review by Muzaffar Iqbal of Kalam
1. Zia uddin Sardar (b. 1951) and the Ijmalis
  - "The claim of universality of ideas produced by the Western civilization is ... a threat to the Islamic worldview"
  - Western science and technology a tool to propagate the West's economic and political agenda
  - science is not an objective activity but a cultural one
  - modern science deeply rooted in Western civilization
  - instead: reconstruction, complexity and interconnection
2. Seyyed Hossein Nasr (b. 1933), Iranian, now in USA
  - advances notion of a Sacred Science
  - advocates reconstructing Islamic scientific thought on the basis of revealed knowledge
  - not to conquer nature, but function within Divine Commands
  - critical of secularization of science and its domination of nature
3. Ismail Raji al-Faruqi and the International Institute of Islamic Thought (f. Herndon, VA 1981), a group of professional Muslims
  - the Muslim Ummah (community) is in a state of malaise, whose roots are in influences foreign to Islam
  - Word of God is relevant in every human activity
  - God has created the Universe with purpose
  - God has made humanity viceregent for an appointed term
  - the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is the model and example
  - nature not to be exploited, but treated as a trust given by God
4. Maurice Bucaille's The Bible, the Qur'an and Science (1978)
  - finds "scientific facts" in Qur'an
from Nasr's A Young Muslim's Guide to the Modern World:
- "Islamic science is related profoundly to the Islamic world view. It is rooted deeply in knowledge based upon the unity of Allah or al-tawhid and a view of the universe in which Allah's Wisdom and Will rule and in which all things are interrelated reflected unity on the cosmic level [p. 182]."
- "In contrast, Western science is based on considering the natural world as a reality which is separate from both Allah and the higher levels of being. At best, Allah is accepted as the creator of the world, as a mason who has built a house which now stands on its own. His intrusion into the running of the world and His continuous sustenance of it are not accepted in the modern scientific worldview [p. 182]."
- Islamic science always relates lower levels, such as the physical, of reality to higher levels in a hierarchy reflecting Allah's Wisdom.
- Western science separates the physical and treats it as an independent reality which can be studied and known without reference to a higher level of being
- Evolution was "very instrumental in destroying the spiritual meaning and the sense of sacredness of Allah's creation [p. 185]."
  1. destroyed the awareness of the continuous presence of Allah as Creator and Sustainer of living forms
  2. very great effect of alienating science from religion
  3. could study the wonders of creation without ever seeing the sacred
- Scientism: philosophy that extends modern science world view (reductionism, etc.) to all things (totality)
  1. dominant modern worldview
  2. only scientism is valid
  3. religion intellectually irrelevant
  4. largely destroyed the spiritual reality around us
  5. removed "enchantment" from the world, and "destroying the basic Islamic idea of the phenomena of nature as being signs of Allah, the ajat which Allah manifests in His creation [p. 188]."
  6. scientists are our modern day priests
- "The Islamic world has a special responsibility as the recipient of the Quranic revelation to act as the protector of Allah's creation, of the world of nature, and not to betray the function of khilafah or viceregency, which all Muslims possess by virtue of being human ...[p.192]."
From Nasr's Science & Civilization In Islam
- "... all science that can properly be called Islamic reveals the unity of Nature (p. 21)."
- aim of Islamic science to show the unity and interrelatedness of all that exists, the contemplation of which leads humanity to the unity of the Divine Principle
- unity of nature is an image of the unity of the Divine Principle
- "Islam" => "being at one with the Divine Will": God is One
- Nature is a fabric of symbols to be read according to their meaning
- To the Sufi, both Nature and the Qur'an are symbolic, each yielding their version of the "cosmic text", p. 24
- Therefore, Muslim scientists would give priority to the whole, not the part
- Goal: striving towards the level of pure knowledge and understanding -- gnosis, p26ff
  1. the instrument of gnosis is the intellect
  2. reason is its reflection in the human domain
  3. reason and intellect interact
  4. rational knowledge leads to the affirmation of the Divine Unity
- causal explanation is subordinated to expressing the Divine Unity
- human knowledge is legitimate and noble only if it is subordinated to the Divine Wisdom
- rationalism independent of revelation never established in Islam.
  s. al-Ghazzali, against the rationalistic philosophers
- all science is "sacred" and is in studied in a three-fold "articulation"
  1. within the Law, i.e. in essence the Qur'an: the circumference
  2. the Path: the inner aspect of things governing our lives: the the radius
  3. the ineffable Truth: the center
- the Path + Truth => Sufism
  - science of the universe
  - science of the soul
  - science of mathematics
more Nasr ...
Muzzaffar Iqbal, founder of the Center of Islamic Science, from Shaking Up Islamic Scholarship
- "There's no room left for Muslims who understand the modern world and understand Islam. The rulers are extremely oppressive and they feel threatened, so people with understanding -- people who want change -- are not allowed to function or even live. Ultimately that breeds violence and hatred because people are pushed against the wall. Then they become suicide bombers."
- the scientific tradition that Muslim scholars excelled in the past "has totally evaporated from the Muslim World."
- Islamic scholars today have no understanding of modern science
- Muslim scientists have no real basis in Islam to do this work.
- need to unite the tradition with science
- doing so will help to generate a culture of leadership from within the Muslim umma and not be imposed from an outside power.
- more ...
More notes ...

References and Sites

Ake, Stacey E., Muzaffar Iqbal, V. V. Raman; Voltaire & H. L. Mencken in the Science Religion Dialogue; Metanexus: Views. 2002.11.29
Anees, Munawar A.; Islamic Bioethics - Perils & Promises; Metanexus: Views. 2002.11.12.
Guideroni, Bruno and Seyyed Hossein Nasr; Can Science Dispense with Relgion?; ed. Mehdi Golshani; Metanexus: Views. 2002.11.07 and 2002.11.11
Hope, Marjorie and James Young; Islam and Ecology; Metanexus: Views. 2002.11.14
Ibn Rushd (Averroes); On the Harmony of Religions and Philosophy; Metanexus: Views. 2002.11.06
Iqbal, Muzaffar; Islam and Science - The catching up syndrome; Metanexus: Views. 2002.11.08
Kalin, Ibrahim; Islam, Science, and Society: Setting the Agenda; Metanexus: Views. 2002.11.05
Lindberg, David; Islalm, Christendom, and Natural Science in the Middle Ages; Metanexus: Views. 2002.11.04
Majid, Abdul; The Muslim Responses to Evolution; Metanexus: Views 2002.11.15.
Nasr, Seyyed Hossein; A Young Muslim's Guide to the Modern World; KAZI Publications, Inc. 1994.
Shanavas, T. O.; Inshah Allah (Allah So Willing) -- The Metaphysics of the Future; Metanexus: Views. 2002.11.17
The Islamization of Science: Four Muslim Positions, Developing an Islamic Modernity -- a review by Muzaffar Iqbal of Kalam
Shaking Up Islam Scholarship; Science & Spirit; march-april 2002.
A Brief Illustrated Guide To Understanding Islam
Introduction to Islam -- Science.
on cloning ...
1. Sachedina, Dr. Abdulaziz; Islamic Perspecitvies on Human Cloning; http://www.people.virginia.edu/~aas/article/article4.htm and http://www.people.virginia.edu/~aas/issues/cloning.htm
2. Siddiqi, Dr. Muzammil H.; Human Cloning: An Islamic Perspective; http://www.peoplecrescentlife.com/wellness/human_cloning_islamic_perspective.
3. Cloning: Islamic View; IOMS, Recommendations of the 9th Fiqh-Medical Seminar; http://www.crescentlife.com/wellness/cloning_islamic_perspective2.htm
4. Nawash, Ayman; Cloning: Friend or Foe; http://www.islamonline.net/iol-english/dowalia/techng-15-10/techng1b.asp
5. Arguments For and Against The Manmade Genesis of Life; http://www.shianews.com/hi/articles/education/0000053.php

Islam and Science: What Can A Christian Learn?

Underlying Principles
- see [Guideroni & Nasr]
- no central authority in Islam, as in Protestantism
- Bruno Guiderdoni, Physicist and Astrophysist, U. of Paris, Director of the Islamic Institute for Advanced Studies
  - fundamental tenet of Islam, al-tawhid ==> the cosmos is One as a reflection of Allah
  - only conflict between religion and science is caused by erroneous viewpoints
  - God's signs everywhere around us in the creation
  - The cosmos manifests God's beauty and majesty, knowledge and love.
  - The scientific endeavor is another way of worshipping God
- Seyyed Hossein Nasr
  - see above and again
  - conflict arises by the totalitarian nature of the current scientific endeavor
  - the origin of the universe is the Divine Principle
  - all authentic knowledge has its roots in the Divine Intellect and must ultimately lead to or be related to the Divine Principle
  - the cosmos has a beginning and an end that transcends the materialistic
  - there is a hierarchy of being:
    1. the divine
    2. spiritual
    3. psychic
    4. physical
  - everything is derived from the Divine, not the physical
  - the laws of nature reflect the Divine Wisdom and Will
  - God sustains the cosmos at every moment with the Divine Creativity
- Mehdi Golshani, Distinguished Prof. of Physics at Sharif U. of Technology, Tehran, Iran; Founder and Chair of the Phil. of Sci Dept. at Sharif U.; Director of the Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies, Tehran
  - Islamic Conception of Knowledge
    1. acquisition of knowledge is incumbent on every Muslim
    2. the source of knowledge is God
    3. but knowledge is to be useful
    4. increases one's knowledge of Go
    5. secures the physical welfare of the Islamic society (umma)
    6. secures the inategrity of Islamic communities and prepares the ground for the realization of the word of God
  - look for signs of God in nature and appreciate the glory of God
  - reason essential to understanding nature and its relationship to God
Social Principles
- Mehdi Golshani, again
  - material progress should not be the teleos of technology, but the well-being of society
  - sci & tech developed to satisfy the spiritual needs of individuals and society
  - sci & tech developed to provide the basic needs of individuals and society
  - sci & tech developed to not disturb the characteristic elements of Islamic society
  - sci & tech developed to safeguard the society agains evil forces and foreign aggression
- Ibrahim Kalin; G. W. University, DC with Nasr
  - see [Kalin]
  - the secular, materialistic, reductionist worldview of science has had a profound negative impact on Islamic countries
  - keeping up with modern science and technology is the #1 priority for Muslim countries
  - need the intrinsic power and necessity of sci and tech
  - but sci and tech deeply influenced by and rooted in Western culture
  - scientism: the totalitarianism that universal truth and validity only arises from science
  - reject this for the cultural particularization of the scientific endeavor
  - nature is NOT void of meaning, but pregnant with meaning
  - not disputing the scientific method as a method of discovery
  - rather challenging the interpretation of the results
  - separates scientific discovery from scientific justification
  - a multiplicity of worldviews are possible, given the scientific data
  - need a metaphysics foundation to address ethical issues
- Nasr
  - s. [Hope and Young]
  - Western science has become illegitimate because it fails to see the need for higher knowledge
  - it has stamped out the symbolic approach to creation
  - "The correspondence between microcosm and macrocosm, and the study of the gradation of beings, form the background for scrutinizing the various forms in nature.
Bioethics; [Anees]
1. Dr. Munawar A. Anees: Executive Director of Knowledge Management Systems; biologist; author: Islam and Biological Futures: Ethics, Gender and Technology; nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in February 2002.
2. Qur'an:
  - Read in the name of thy Lord who created
  - from the 7th to the 12th centuries, this and some 800 vv on knowledge ('lm) prime movers behind triumphant of Muslim intellect.
  - no dichotomy between Revelation and Reason
  - but the Qur'an, like the Bible, is not a book of science
3. scientific fundamentalism: science is neutral, objective, rational and is the only legitimate source of knowledge
  - science is not value free or culturally neutral
  - s. socialogists of science and feminist critics
  - science is NOT to sole source of knowledge
  - belief also has cognitive content, is non-reductionist & non-deterministic, and metaphysical
4. Muslim responses to biotechnology ...
5. what is permitted (halal) and what is forbidden (haram)
6. basis for permissibility is either
  1. conjugal relations, or ...
  2. the larger public interest
7. e.g., voluntary abortion is haram, therapeutic abortion is halal
8. "test tube baby", recombinant DNA technology, cryogenics, surrogacy, fetal genetic engineering, IVF
  - science now breeches life itself
  - enormous moral issues raised
  - potential abuses: eugencics
  - moral and ethical precedents are absent
  - and so science marches on in an ethical void
  - science, now, as well as religion, addresses ethical issues
9. s. Cloning, below
Cloning
1. Anees (from Bioethics)
  - cloning forces a new division of genetic endowment
  - biological identity and individuality acquire new meanings
  - cloning is inherently instrumental: objectified, reductionistic, deterministic
  - a new Genesis? a new birth? technological reincarnation
  - morally contingent: a new world of identity, rights, responsbilities, and as well as worldview?
  - the march of technology ...
  - cloning ...
    1. reinforces genetic determinism
    2. poses a threat to individuality and diversity
    3. forcloses genetic variability
    4. an act of dehumanization
  - is the body just genes, tissues and organs distinct from the person? or are they integrated?
  - how does cloning impact this?
  - Islam: the body is where the corporeal and spiritual worlds meet.
  - the body is a trust from God, we neither have rights to it or ownership of it
  - Qur'an views reproduction in traditional manner (of course!)
  - this (appears to) pre-empt any move towards cloning:
    1. reproduction is a Divine act
    2. humankind is an agent, a trustee of God
  - however God also calls us to care for the body:
    1. if performed within legal marital bonds; no extramarital genetic bouindaries are crossed, the genetic endowment is only from the spouses ...
    2. ... can cloning be used for therapeutic purposes (as is done for abortion)?
2. Sachedina
  - limited knowledge about consequences
  - Muslim legal rulings cautious, even prohibitive
  - except for treatment of infertility, assessment of genetic or other abnormalities in the embryo prior to implantation
3. Siddiqi
  - should not be used as an alternative for human production, even on a small scale
  - should be haram [prohibited], because it may cause danger to ...
    1. human personality
    2. human dignity and honor
    3. human family and society
4. from the 9th Fiqh-Medical Seminar:
  - not permitted
  - if exceptional cases emerge in the future, they should be considered to verify compliance with the Shari'ah (Islamic law).
5. Nawash
  - permissible in case of plants and animals
  - but not for humans
  - extension to humans creates extremely complex and intractable social and moral problems.
6. Arguments For and Against ...
  - against ...
    1. God is the creator not hulmans; we have no right to interfer with God's plans
    2. Loss of kinship -- a clone does not have an identifiable mother and father
    3. harmful to society/nature -- may have grave consequences if this ability was to create superior beings
    4. may cause disruption in nature, due to possibilities of overpopulation and famine
    5. unnatural -- a way of reproduction that is contrary to what God has given humans
  - for ...
    1. cloning is a form of creation that is created from materials we have, rather than from nothing
    2. Islam encourages research and investigation
    3. cloning technology can be used for good purposes: new cures for diseases and conditions
Evolution [Majid][Hope and Young]
1. evolution is totally contradictory and incompatible with Islamic teachings
  - Allah created all organisms in their present forms
  - all the present diversity of animals and plants "scrattered" from those parents
  - Adam, father of humankind, created from clay (Qur'an)
  - Hawwa (Eve) created from a rib of Adam (Qur'an)
  - s. Shihab-ud Din Nadvi, Wahidduddin Kan
  - evolution is materialistic
  - nothing but matter, and matter is the essence of everything
  - denies the existence of the divine Creator
  - Nasr adds [Hope and Young] ...
    - Darwinism eradicated the sense of the sacred
    - Survival of the fittest runs counter to the sacred order
    - Cooperation is basic to nature
    - survival of the fittest sees humans as the winner in a long, dark struggle
    - this destroys the spiritual significance of nature
    - the historical process has been deified
    - no sacred scriptures speak of higher forms evolving from lower forms
2. Darwinism not scientific viable
  - s. Harun Yahya
  - re. "Cambrian Explosion"
  - no authenticating fossil record
  - developed as an alternative to God's creative act
  - Nasr: scientific approach to secular creation
3. features of evolutionary theory can be compatible with the teachings of Islam
  - there is no evidence in the Qur'an to suggest whether species were created suddenly or gradually
  - theistic evolution discussed
  - evolution is a program of Allah
  - Qur'an: Allah made humans from clay and sperm => from minerals, evolving to through plant and animal
  - Humans are also spiritual: it is in this wise that humans are in the image of God
  - Note evolution is tracking humans back to an original Eve and an original Adam
Cosmology
- s. [Shanavas]
- "Based on causality, scientists maintain that the future is predetermined and can be predicatable through accurate knowledge of past causes no free will
- Allah is the creator of everything
- "Even creations that we boast are our own emanated from Allah." Yes! but in Process, we are co-creators with Allah. we choose to create; Allah is the source of the creative spark
- "Muslims believe that the future is not simply born without cause, but that it will occur only if allah creaties it.
- "Islamic theology tells us that all living creatures participate in the actualization of the possibilities contained within future moments into visible monuments of God. each occassion ingresses all past occassions; Process elaborates with persishing-becoming; society of occassions
- without novel possibilities, the future becomes stagnant; Allah sends our fway moments with novel possibilities Allah's lure: Allah is the source of novel possibilities
- Allah does not interfere or force us into making choices; Allah voluntarily limits the Absolute Power {Q.10:99} Allah does not coerce; Allah is perfect, but by choice not omnipotent
- our future is limited by the range of possibilities that God has in store for us we don't have unrestricted freedom
- "free will distances God as a tyrant Allah is love and does not coerce
- "Chance and unpredictability are inevitable and in fact built into [the cosmos]" change is the norm
Ecology
- s. [Hope and Young]
- Qur'an speaks of God's design for creation and our responsibility for preserving it.
- Islam can embrace an environmental ethic
- guidelines: Tawhid (unity), khilafa (trusteeship), akhirah (accountability)
- Qur'an and Bible have similar views of creation {Q.6:1; Q.17:44, e.g.}
- Humankind is given role of trustee {Q.2:30}
- Humans are expected to be responsible and accountable {Q.7:56}
- God rejoices in creation
- the diversity of creation points to the unity of the divine plan
- God gave humankind spiritual insight so that we can understand nature
- however, "not a few Muslims see environmentalism as still another form of Western control, intended to keep Islam from developing and Muslims from realizing their economic potential."
- in a true Islamic society, political leadership is expected to act according to the shari'ah.
- if the doctors of shari'ah pronounced polluting industries and certailn development in violation of Islamic law, then polticians would be able to forbid it.
- Nasr: "They [the West] want to remove problems brought on by destroying the balance between man [sic!] and nature through further domination of nature. The problem i snot really underdevelopment in the Third World, but overdevelopment brought by the West."
- Nasr: we are God's steward and called to protect the creation, bearing witness to the truth that nature speaks of God.
- Muslim scientists recongnize that nature is a reflection of the Paradise whose memory we bear in the depts of our souls.
A Christian Response
- from Islam, and Christian friendly:
  1. God is intimately part of the scientific endeavor
    - science is NOT omniscient
    - our values enter into the scientific endeavor:
      - what we study
      - how we interpret the findings
      - how we use it
    - knowledge, technology, material gain are not the appropriate teleos of the endeavor ...
    - ... rather intimacy of God is
    - the teleos of sci & tech should be to seek God and God's will
    - creation points to God and is a gift of God
    - the Cosmos provides signs of God's will and love
    - reality includes the materialistic creation (the subject of science), AND the transcendental
    - the transcendental also critiques/frames our efforts; i.e., nature has MEANING
  2. the Creation is one, united; the whole is greater than the parts
    - all things are interrelated
    - emergence and consilience
    - Process Theology
    - we all, human and non-human, are children of God
    - Jesus tore down the barriers between people
  3. God sustains the Creation
    - the Creation is good
    - God is the uncreated creator
    - the Holy Spirit is the thread sustaining the cosmos, physical and spiritual
    - God has designed the universe to be sentient-friendly: life and sentience are nurtured and encouraged
  4. sci & tech must be use in the service of God
    - to sustain the basic needs of individuals and society
    - to encourage the spiritual needs of individuals and society
    - to promote shalom/salaam
    - to not undermine personhood, justice, peace, etc.
- but we add ...
  1. from Process, change is the norm
  2. God is immanent in the Creation in a kenotic way
  3. the Cosmos is framed by cross and resurrection
- embracing this ...
  1. locating the Trinity in nature
  2. teleos in Nature
  3. turning the magnified power of technology to God's will