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In
this article, Turkish thinker and author, Harun Yahya, explores the relationship
between Islam and science, pointing out that the Qur’an enjoins humans to
study the world around them.
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An
early manuscript of the Qur'an.
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Fourteen
centuries ago, God sent down the Qur’an as a guide to all humanity.
At
the time the Arab society was in a state of complete degeneration, chaos and
ignorance. They were a barbarous people who worshipped idols of their own
making, believed warfare and bloodshed to be virtuous and were even capable of
killing their own children. They had little interest in intellectual matters,
let alone a scientific outlook to the natural world.
However,
through Islam they learned humanity and civilization. Not only the Arabs but all
the communities which accepted Islam escaped the darkness of the age of
ignorance and were illuminated by the divine wisdom of the Qur’an. Amongst the
faculties the Qur’an brought to humanity was scientific thinking.
The
genesis of scientific thought is the sense of curiosity. Because people wonder
how the universe and nature work, they investigate and become interested in
science. But most people lack this curiosity. For them, the important things are
not the secrets of the universe and nature but their own small worldly profits
and pleasures. In communities where people who think in this way are in charge,
science does not develop. Idleness and ignorance rule.
The
Arab community before the Qur’an was of this type. But the verses of the
Qur’an called upon them to think, to investigate and to use their minds,
perhaps for the first time in their lives.
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In
the Qur’an, Muslims are defined as people who think about the creation of the
heavens and the earth.
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In
one of the first revealed verses of the Qur’an, God drew the attention of the
Arabs to the camel, a part of their everyday lives:
[Have
they not looked at the camel-how it was created?
And at the sky-how it was raised up?
And at the mountains-how they were embedded?
And at the earth-how it is spread out?
So remind them! You are only a reminder.]
(Al-Ghashiyah 88:17-21)
In
many other verses of the Qur’an, people are instructed to examine nature and
learn from it because people can know God only by examining His creations.
Because of this, in one verse of the Qur’an Muslims are defined as people who
think about the creation of the heavens and the earth:
[Those
who remember God, standing, sitting and lying on their sides, and reflect on the
creation of the heavens and the earth (saying): “Our Lord, You have not
created this for nothing. Glory be to You! So safeguard us from the punishment
of the Fire.”]
(Aal `Imran 3:191)
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For
a Muslim, taking an interest in science is a very important form of worship.
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As
a result of this, for a Muslim, taking an interest in science is a very
important form of worship. In many verses of the Qur'an, God instructs Muslims
to investigate the heavens, the earth, living things or their own existence and
think about them. When we look at the verses, we find indications of all the
main branches of science in the Qur’an.
For
example, in the Qur’an, God encourages the science of astronomy:
[He
who created the seven heavens in layers. You will not find any flaw in the
creation of the All-Merciful. Look again-do you see any gaps?]
(Al-Mulk 67:3)
In
another verse of the Qur’an, God encourages the investigation of astronomy and
the composition of the earth that is the science of geology:
[Do
they not look at the sky above them? How We have made it and adorned it, and
there are no flaws in it? And the earth, We have spread it out, and set thereon
mountains standing firm, and produced therein every kind of beautiful growth (in
pairs), To be observed and commemorated by every devotee turning (to God).]
(Qaf 50:6-8)
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…and
gardens of grapes… |
In
the Qur’an, God also encourages the study of botany:
[It
is He Who sends down water from the sky from which We bring forth growth of
every kind, and from that We bring forth the green shoots and from them We bring
forth close-packed seeds, and from the spathes of the date palm date clusters
hanging down, and gardens of grapes and olives and pomegranates, both similar
and dissimilar. Look at their fruits as they bear fruit and ripen. There are
Signs in that for people who believe.]
(Al-An`am 6:99)
In
another verse of the Qur’an, God draws attention to zoology:
[You
have a lesson in livestock...]
(An-Nahl 16:66)
Here
is a Qur’anic verse about the sciences of archaeology and anthropology:
[Have
they not traveled in the earth and seen the final fate of those before them?]
(Ar-Rum 30:9)
In
another verse of the Qur’an, God draws attention to the proof of God in a
person's own body and spirit:
[There
are certainly Signs in the earth for people with certainty; and in yourselves as
well. Do you not then see?]
(Adh-Dhariyat 51:20-21)
As
we can see, God recommends all the sciences to Muslims in the Qur’an. Because
of this the growth of Islam in history meant at the same time the growth of
scientific knowledge.
*Excerpted
from “The Islamic Origins of Modern Science.” To read the original article,
visit www.harunyahya.com.
Reprinted with slight editorial changes with permission from the
author. 
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