Islamic attitudes towards science

This is a sub-article to Islamic science and Qur'an and miracles.

The Qur'an is the holy book of Islam. Muslims believe that the Qur'an is the literal word and the final revelation of God for the guidance of humankind. Science in the broadest sense refers to any system of knowledge attained by verifiable means. In a more restricted sense, science refers to a system of acquiring knowledge based on empiricism, experimentation, and methodological naturalism, as well as to the organized body of knowledge humans have gained by such research.

Scientists maintain that scientific investigation must adhere to the scientific method, a process for evaluating empirical knowledge that explains observable events in nature as results of natural causes, rejecting supernatural notions.

Supporters for Qur'an Scientific Claims

Researchers have written about the relationship between the contents of the Qur'an and the findings of science. Maurice Bucaille, the Frenchborn Saudi royal physician, claims in The Bible, the Qur'an and Science that this relationship "turns out to be one of harmony and not of discord", to the surprise of most scientists "bound up in materialist theories", and notes that Islam often encouraged scientific acquisition of knowledge.

Criticisms of Qur'an Scientific Claims

Some skeptics, such as historian and philosopher Richard Carrier, counter that certain scientific facts which are said to be detailed in the Qur'an were known in the Middle East centuries before it was written, or were "predicted" also by other people with no claims of divine inspiration, or are found in passages that are clearly rephrasals of the Hebrew Bible. He also presents criticisms based on the translations and context of the verses presented as scientific facts Others, such as physicist Taner Edis, also counter that the Qur'an offers "vague descriptions of natural phenomena" which are shown to be in agreement with modern science by using "stretched or arbitrary" interpretations.

History of relationship between Quran and Science

Maurice Bucaille references a document produced by the Office for Non-Christian Affairs at the Vatican, which gives a history of the relationship between the Qur’an and science.

It would nevertheless be wrong to imagine that, in the history of Islam, certain believers had never harboured a different attitude towards science. It is a fact that, at certain periods, the obligation to educate oneself and others was rather neglected. It is equally true that in the Muslim world, as elsewhere, an attempt was sometimes made to stop scientific development. All the same it will be remembered that at the height of Islam, between the Eighth and Twelfth centuries A.D., i.e. at a time when restrictions on scientific development were in force in the Christian world, a very large number of studies and discoveries were being made at Islamic universities. It was there that the remarkable cultural resources of the time were to be found. The Calif's library at Cordoba contained 400,000 volumes. Averrowas teaching there, and Greek, Indian and Persian sciences were taught. This is why scholars from all over Europe went to study at Cordoba, just as today people go to the United States to perfect their studies. A very great number of ancient manuscripts have come down to us thanks to cultivated Arabs who acted as the vehicle for the culture of conquered countries. We are also greatly indebted to Arabic culture for mathematics (algebra was an Arabic invention), astronomy, physics (optics), geology, botany, medicine (Avicenna) etc. For the very first time, science took on an international character in the Islamic universities of the Middle Ages.

Encouragement of scientific thinking in the Qur'an

Most surely in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day there are signs for men who understand.

— Qur'an, ^{[Quran 3:190]}

Travel through the earth and see how Allah did originate creation; so will Allah produce a later creation: for Allah has power over all things.

— Qur'an, ^{[Quran 29:20]}

In his article "The Islamic Origins of Modern Science" Turkish thinker and author, Harun Yahya states that:

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. 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:

Do they not look at the Camels, how they are made?- And at the Sky, how it is raised high?- And at the Mountains, how they are fixed firm?- And at the Earth, how it is spread out? Therefore do thou give admonition, for thou art one to admonish.

— Qur'an, ^{[Quran 88:17]}

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:

Men who celebrate the praises of Allah, standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and contemplate the (wonders of) creation in the heavens and the earth, (With the thought): "Our Lord! not for naught Hast Thou created (all) this! Glory to Thee! Give us salvation from the penalty of the Fire."

— Qur'an, ^{[Quran 3:191]}

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 one above another: No want of proportion wilt thou see in the Creation of (Allah) Most Gracious. So turn thy vision again: seest thou any flaw?

— Qur'an, ^{[Quran 67:3]}

Harun Yahya further illustrate that in many other verses God also encourages the study of botany, zoology, sciences of archaeology, anthropology and so on.

Astronomy

Creating of Galaxies

NGC 4414, a typical spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices, is about 56,000 light years in diameter and approximately 60 million light years distant.

Qur'an:

Moreover He comprehended in His design the sky, and it had been (as) smoke.

— Qur'an, ^{[Quran 41:11]}

Science: Scientists say that before the galaxies in the Universe were formed, celestial matter was initially in the form of huge gaseous matter or clouds.

Commentary by Maurice Bucaille:

The Qur'an presents in two verses a brief synthesis of the phenomena that constituted the basic process of the formation of the Universe i.e. verse ^{[Quran 21:30]} and ^{[Quran 41:11]}. The important things to remember at present are the following:

• The statement of the existence of a gaseous mass with fine particles, for this is how the word 'smoke'(dukan in Arabic) is to be interpreted. Smoke is generally made up of a gaseous substratum, plus, in more or less stable suspension, fine particles that may belong to solid and even liquid states of matter at high or low temperature;
• The reference to a separation process (fatq) of an primary single mass whose elements were initially fused together (ratq). It must be noted that in Arabic 'fatq' is the action of breaking, diffusing, separating, and that 'ratq' is the action of fusing or binding together elements to make a homogenous whole.

This concept of the separation of a whole into several parts is noted in other passages of the Book with reference to multiple worlds. The first verse of the first sura in the Qur'an proclaims, after the opening invocation, the following: "In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful", "Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds." The terms 'worlds' reappears dozens of times in the Qur'an. The Heavens are referred to as multiple as well, not only on account of their plural form, but also because of their symbolic numerical quantity: 7.

Existing of life other then Earth

Quran:

See ye not how Allah has created the seven heavens one above another, And made the moon a light in their midst, and made the sun as a (Glorious) Lamp?

— Qur'an, ^{[Quran 71:15]}

Commentary by Dr. Maurice Bucaille

The terms 'worlds' reappears dozens of times in the Qur'an. The Heavens are referred to as multiple as well, not only on account of their plural form, but also because of their symbolic numerical quantity: 7. This number is used 24 times throughout the Qur'an for various numerical quantities. It often carries the meaning of 'many' although we do not know exactly why this meaning of the figure was used. The Greeks and Romans also seem to have used the number 7 to mean an undefined idea of plurality. In the Qur'an, the number 7 refers to the Heavens themselves (samawat). It alone is understood to mean 'Heavens'. The 7 roads of the Heavens are mentioned once. The commentators on the Qur'an are in agreement on all these verses: the number 7 means no more than plurality. There are therefore many Heavens and Earths, and it comes as no small surprise to the reader of the Qur'an to find that earths such as our own may be found in the Universe, a fact that has not yet been verified by man in our time.

Concept of Space

Maurice Bucaille writes that:

Another observation which may surprise the Twentieth century reader of the Qur'an is the fact that verses refer to three groups of things created, i.e.

1. Things in the Heavens
2. Things on the Earth
3. Things between the Heavens and the Earth

Here are several of these verses:

To Him belongs what is in the heavens and on earth, and all between them, and all beneath the soil.

— Qur'an, ^{[Quran 20:6]}

He Who created the heavens and the earth and all that is between, in six days, and is firmly established on the Throne (of Authority): Allah Most Gracious: ask thou, then, about Him of any acquainted (with such things).

— Qur'an, ^{[Quran 25:59]}

It is Allah Who has created the heavens and the earth, and all between them, in six Days, and is firmly established on the Throne (of Authority): ye have none, besides Him, to protect or intercede (for you): will ye not then receive admonition?

— Qur'an, ^{[Quran 32:4]}

We created the heavens and the earth and all between them in Six Days, nor did any sense of weariness touch Us.

— Qur'an, ^{[Quran 50:38]}

The reference in the Qur'an to "what is between the Heavens and the Earth" is again to be found in verses:^{[Quran 21:16]}, ^{[Quran 44:7]}, ^{[Quran 44:38]}, ^{[Quran 78:37]}, ^{[Quran 15:85]}, ^{[Quran 46:3]}, and ^{[Quran 43:85]}. Hence Quran give following concepts.

1. Existence of six periods for the Creation in general.
2. Interlocking of stages in the Creation of the Heavens and the Earth.
3. Creation of the Universe out of an initially unique mass forming a block that subsequently split up.
4. Plurality of the Heavens and of the Earths
5. Existence of an intermediary creation 'between the Heavens and the Earth'.

Water cycle

The movement of water around, over, and through the Earth is called the water cycle.

Quran:

It is Allah Who sends the winds, and then they raise clouds: then He spreads them in the sky as He wills and makes them dark, then you see the drops issue from the midst of them...

— Qur'an, ^{[Quran 30:48]}

Seest thou not that Allah makes the clouds move gently, then joins them together, then makes them into a heap? - then wilt thou see rain issue forth from their midst. And He sends down from the sky mountain masses (of clouds) wherein is hail: He strikes therewith whom He pleases and He turns it away from whom He pleases, the vivid flash of His lightning well-nigh blinds the sight.

— Qur'an, ^{[Quran 24:43]}

These verses can be explained as follows:

The two verses are describing the stages in the formation of rain clouds, which is in turn a stage in the water cycle. A close examination of these two verses suggests that they make reference to two different phenomena, one of "spreading" the clouds and the other of "joining" them together, two different processes by which rain clouds might be formed. Modern meteorology has come to this very conclusion within the last two centuries. There are two types of clouds which can yield precipitation, and they are classified by their shape: stratus (layer-type) and cumulus (heap- type). The precipitative layer clouds are further subdivided into stratus and nimbostratus (nimbo meaning rain). The first verse above on rain clouds, ^{[Quran 30:48]}, precisely sums up the formation of layer rain clouds. It is known today that these types of clouds are started under conditions of gradual, rising winds.

Also there are many other verses indicating towards water-cycle, e.g. ^{[Quran 39:21]}, ^{[Quran 30:24]}, ^{[Quran 15:52]}, ^{[Quran 23:18]}, ^{[Quran 7:17]}, ^{[Quran 25:14]}, and ^{[Quran 25:41]}.

Biology

The Alder is monoecious. Shown here: maturing male flower catkins on right, last year's female catkins on left

.. And Allah has created every animal from water... [^{[Quran 24:45]}

]

Life with Water

Quran:

... and we made every living thing of water? Will they not then believe?

— Qur'an, ^{[Quran 21:30]}

And Allah has created every animal from water: of them there are some that creep on their bellies; some that walk on two legs; and some that walk on four. Allah creates what He wills for verily Allah has power over all things.

— Qur'an, ^{[Quran 24:45]}

Science: From a biological standpoint, water has many distinct properties that are critical for the proliferation of life that set it apart from other substances. It carries out this role by allowing organic compounds to react in ways that ultimately allows replication. All known forms of life depend on water. [ copied from Water_effect_on_life] On the origin of life in water, Renaissance scientists including Harvey and Redi, and in the 1850's, Louis Pasteur's research on bacteriology proposed that life emerged from a long, increasingly complex chain of chemical reactions. These reactions are believed to have begun in the depths of the oceans because the atmosphere was not sufficiently developed to protect living organisms from ultraviolet radiation.

Fossils of human ancestors

File:Pekingthr.jpg

Reconstructed skull of Peking Man, a representative of the extinct species believed to be the nearest ancestor of Homo sapiens, Homo erectus.

There are three basic verses in Qur'an which are related to human creation:

The similitude of Jesus before Allah is that of Adam. He created him from clay.

— Qur'an, ^{[Quran 3:59]}

O mankind fear your Lord who created you from one person and created his mate from his kind and from these two scattered countless men and women.

— Qur'an, ^[Quran 4:1]

He began the creation of man with clay; then made his progeny from the essence of an ordinary fluid; then he perfected him and breathed into him something of his spirit and gave you the faculties of hearing and sight and the heart.

— Qur'an, ^{[Quran 32:7]}

According to first two verses, Adam and Eve were directly created by the God from clay. They did not descend from any other species as proposed by Darwin. The rest of mankind is the progeny of Adam and Eve. The third verse implies three stages in their creation. It can be interpreted in two ways:

• First possibility:
  • They were created from clay
  • Then they subsequently developed the ability to reproduce at a later age
  • Finally, after some more time elapsed, they entered the third phase whence they were perfected both physically and spiritually and received the divine spirit from the God.
• Second possibility: All these three phases did not pass on the first humans created, rather each of the phases lasted for many years during which many life forms were created having the characteristic of their respective periods together with that of the previous one.
  • Human forms were initially directly created from clay because they did not have the ability to reproduce. In this phase, which may have lasted for millions of years their physical form after passing through various stages culminated in the homo sapiens of today. Millions of species may have been created like this. Among them, many went extinct and the others lived to enter the second phase.
  • The human forms now had the ability to reproduce and direct creation was no longer required. Adam and Eve were the first directly created pair from clay which had this ability to reproduce. In the second phase, except Adam and Eve all other pairs who had the ability to reproduce pairs were not perfected and later died away.
  • It was this very pair which entered the third phase and was perfected physically so that it could receive the divine spirit from the God and be blessed with the faculties of sense and reason as is specified by the last part of the verse.

The fossils which we find today might belong to forms of the first and second phases.

Embryology

According to Keith Moore, former professor of Anatomy at the University of Toronto, the Qur'an contains a number of verses pertaining to human reproduction and development, the scientific meaning of which became clear only recently. An example cited by him is:

He created you (all) from a single person: then created, of like nature, his mate; and he sent down for you eight head of cattle in pairs: He makes you, in the wombs of your mothers, in stages, one after another, in three veils of darkness. such is Allah, your Lord and Cherisher: to Him belongs (all) dominion. There is no god but He: then how are ye turned away (from your true Centre)?

— Qur'an, ^{[Quran 3:96]}

The phrase "in three veils of darkness" in relation to the fetus may refer to three physiological barriers:

1. The anterior abdominal wall;
2. The uterine wall; and
3. The amniochorionic membrane.

The extent of human knowledge of embryology stretched back to the second century, where Galen had described the placenta and fetal membranes. Discussing the "stages" mentioned in this verse, Moore argues that it was probably known to the seventh century doctors that the human embryo developed within the uterus, though their knowing of human embryos developing in stages would have been unlikely. Aristotle noted the developmental stages of a chick embryo during the fourth century, but it was not until the fifteenth century that developmental stages of human embryo had been the subject of discourse. Further occurances of verses pertaining to supposed embryological development are as follows:

Then We placed him as (a drop of) sperm in a place of rest, firmly fixed.

— Qur'an, ^{[Quran 23:13]}

The word "nutufah" (Arabic: نطفة) here has been interpreted as the "sperm" or "spermatozoon", although Moore suggests that a more meaningful rendering would be "zygote", which divides to form a blastocyst before embedding itself in the uterus — possibly what is referred to in the verse as "a place of rest". This interpretation, he claims, is supported by a different verse in the Qur'an describing the human being as created from a "mixed drop", to which the zygote would correspond, being "the union of a mixture of the sperm and the ovum."

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!

— Qur'an, ^{[Quran 23:14]}

Human embryo between eighteen and twenty-one days, on which the somites are visible

The word "alaqah" (Arabic: علقة), rendered by Yusuf Ali as a "clot of congealed blood", is translated as "a leech-like structure" by Abdul Majid Zendani, professor of Islamic studies at the King Abdulaziz University. Moore claims that the meaning of alaqah is "leech" or "bloodsucker", which he states is an appropriate description of the relationship between the embryo and the endometrium in which it is implanted, between days 7 and 24 of human embryological development. This is because the human embryo derives blood from the endometrium, in the same way a leech draws blood from its host. Morphologically, too, the embryo at this stage resembles that of a leech, he notes, unobservable by anyone in the seventh century without a microscope.

The next stage referred to is "mudhgah" (Arabic: مضغة), which Moore suggests means "chewed substance or chewed lump." This, he believes, corresponds to around the fourth week of development where the embryo resembles the appearance of a chewed lump, a key characteristic of which being indentations or "teeth-marks" signalling the beginnings of the somites, the precursor to the vertebral column. Continuing in his analysis of this verse, he states that the next stage (which mentions formation of bones and flesh) is also in accordance with the stages of embryological development, as first the bones form as cartilage models, after which muscles develop from the surrounding somatic mesoderm. The phrase "then We developed out of it another creature" may allude to the resemblance of a human figure by the end of the eighth week, by which time the embryo has gained distinctive human characteristics and possesses the primordia of all external and internal organs.

On pollution and the wasting of natural resources

Quran:

Mischief has appeared on land and sea because of (the meed) that the hands of men have earned, that (Allah) may give them a taste of some of their deeds: in order that they may turn back (from Evil).

— Qur'an, ^{[Quran 30:41]}

O Children of Adam! wear your beautiful apparel at every time and place of prayer: eat and drink: But waste not by excess, for Allah loveth not the wasters.

— Qur'an, ^{[Quran 7:31]}

The importance of understanding the ecological consequences of our actions as individuals or as a society was not fully appreciated until this century. We now understand that we cannot alter the face of the earth indiscriminately without paying some penalty, which may be disastrous. We also understand that caution ought to be applied globally, not just locally but truly "on land and sea". Ecological awareness does not imply asceticism however. According to the Qur'an, we are not forbidden to take pleasure in this life, however we are forbidden from wasting resources needlessly.

External links

• Islam101. The Qur'an and Modern Science - Extracts from the video "The Truth".
• Answering Islam. Qur'an and Science.
• Harun Yahya
• Harun Yahya online books collection
• Quran and Science at IslamVision.com
• Zakir Naik lecture (at youtube.com)
• Resources on Islam at Secular Web.
• Website by Dr.Zaghloul Elnaggar
• Calculation of speed of light according to Qur'an