What do you think has been the greatest impact of science and technology on Islamic civilization?
Answer
The impact of science and technology on Islamic civilization has been the recognition of the contributions of Muslim scientists in the pre-renaissance era, accelerating the renaissance by at least 100 years in Europe.
Name
judy
- United States
Profession
admin
Question
Is it inventing a new technology a Biddah?
Answer
No, invention is discovering what nature makes possible. Invention itself cannot carry a negative connotation. What may carry a negative connotation, called biddah, is innovating things without sound foundations of knowledge, reasoning, and drawing biased conclusions.
Name
Haroonistan
- Diego Garcia
Profession
journalist
Question
Many people talk about the impact that Muslim scientists and academians had on the renaissance period.
What I would like to get you view on is what you think it will take to have a reawakening of sorts amongst Muslim thinkers? Do you think that it is possible in our age to have this sort of renaissance considering the conditions that we are in?
Answer
What it will take the Muslims is what it took the early Muslims - a quest for knowledge, knowing the knowledge as it exists regardless of its source and having the drive to discover and make a contribution to civilization.
Consider the following words of Al-Khwarizmi:
"That fondness for science, ... that affability and condescension which God shows to the learned, that promptitude with which he protects and supports them in the elucidation of obscurities and in the removal of difficulties, has encouraged me to compose a short work on calculating by al-jabr and al-muqabala , confining it to what is easiest and most useful in arithmetic."
We can do it when we rise with the spirit that early Muslims had.
Name
Iqbal
-
Profession
Question
Assalamu alaykum.
Good to 'see' you on this forum. Question is: Can there BE an Islamic civilization without the full utilization of science and technology?
Was salaam.
Answer
Yes, we can make a beginning. We can make increasingly greater use of knowledge in science and technology and thus not only improve ourselves but begin to make a contribution to the civilization at large. At the time that science and technology thrived among the Muslims, they were inspired by the Islamic spirit for the quest of knowledge, and often they were supported with appropriate resources in the Muslim lands. These two things have to happen again - an intense activity in science and technology that is supported with resources, even if not quite understood by those in position of power.
Name
mir
- United States
Profession
servant of allah swt.
Question
salam u alaikum, i was talking to a brother and telling him that unless we die believing that there is no god but allah and muhammad pbuh is his messenger there will be no way of us going to paradise. but he says that what if someone who christian or jew and never have done wrong and they do alot of good works and never harm anyone or drink, can they be given a second chance???? jazak o allah o khair..
Answer
You should refer this question to tomorrow's Fatwa session at Islam Online.
Name
hijaz
- United Kingdom
Profession
student
Question
Can I get married with an intention to divorce my wife after I finish my studies time in this country (for example), and can I tell her about my intention, that I only marring her for just a short period of time.
Answer
You should refer this question to tomorrow's Fatwa session at Islam Online.
Name
Siti Zubeida
- Gambia
Profession
Linguist
Question
Dr. Ahmed, don't you think that one of the major obstacles holding the Muslims back from any significant scientific achievement is the fact that their languages (especially Arabic) have not been modernized or updated for centuries? We still use the western names for radio, television, human genetics, computer science terms, Internet terms, etc...
Answer
Yes, what you have identified may be one of the obstacles. I know that in my own studies of the writings of Islamic scholars, the words used by them particularly on concepts and results of science are highly questionable. I am not quite sure of the reasons for this but it may stem from a lack of culture in science and technology. This was not quite true in early Islamic civilization. The rendering of scientific concepts and results in Arabic was very precise and formed the basis in translated works. The scientists of that period understood sciences, even when reading in languages other than Arabic, enough to render it in Arabic precisely.
Name
Nader
- United States
Profession
teacher
Question
Do you feel that the various fields of science have become over-satturated? Is it possible to make breaking discoveries in these various fields (biology; etc.) or should we focus on searching for fresh ideas/research?
Answer
There is an ever increasing room for invention and innovation. The saturation you are referring to is arising out of the rapid pace of developments and the immensity of publications. Keeping track of these developments in a way that one does not re-invent what has already invented and reported is a daunting task. However, this situation has always been challenging for researchers. A case in point relates to inventions and their application related to electronics, computers, and information technology. This makes the field even more attractive for further research and innovation. Of course, once in a while someone breaks new ground in a totally unexpected area. We should always be open to those possibilities.
Name
Francis Duey
- United Kingdom
Profession
secretary
Question
How long has it been since the Muslims provided humankind with any scientific or technological breakthrough? Or has the West monopolized this field for the past millennium?
Answer
The known period of monumental contributions by Muslims is that of pre-rennaissance. However, it does not mean that Muslims, whether liviung in Muslim lands, or elsewhere are not making any contributions to science and technology and thereby to civilization. Muslims have won the Nobel prize, and many of them have made other less well-known contributions. However, there is no doubt that our contribution in proportion to the world's population is highly questionable, and much of it can be attributed to the poor attitude towards science and the understanding of science, technology and the policies as well as allocation of resources to education and research by those in power.
