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Islamization of Sciences, A Treatise

The concept of 'Islamization of Knowledge' is suggested as a panacea to the present , Muslim backwardness in terms of knowledge in sciences and technology, after painstaking research and analysis undertaken by scholars past and contemporary.

Thence, this article revolves around the fact that "There is an Islamic justification, necessity, obligation and content for science and technology as Islamic knowledge. God is the source and creator of the physical and ethical laws concerning the universe. In the garb of modern secular sciences, none can venture to exclude the Creator from the mention of His Creation, which encompasses even the tiniest atom."

Qur'an, it's verses:

 This is a book of 'guidance' for mankind that throws 'light' on various disciplines encompassing mankind's life, through its 6226 verses. The frequency of verses on any key word or discipline must show their importance in the sight of God. On the other hand, the lack of repetition could point out that the particular subject is definitive and needs not much discussion.

Thus, from among the five pillars of Islam, there are only eight verses on Hajj, the pilgrimage to Makkah, and only six verses on fasting in the month of Ramadan. While, there are about 900 verses on 'Water Resources Sciences and Engineering' in the Qur'an and nearly 1400 verses on 'Economics' in the Quran. However, the Quran, is not a textbook or encyclopedia of water resources or economics either.

Our Past Glory:

George Sarton in his monumental work 'An Introduction to the History of Science' presented in 1927 says "The early Muslims had world intellectual supremacy in about 100 years after the revelation of the Quran, hence power and dignity for at least six centuries, 2-8 A.H.(8-14 A.D.), because they followed the Qur'an and the good pattern (aswtun hasanah) of Prophet Muhammad."

Present State of Muslims vis-ŕ-vis Qur'an/ Knowledge:

In his 'Book of Knowledge' (Kitab al ilm) Imam Al-Ghazali pointed out that takhsis (Reductionism) was one of the important reasons for the deviation (tahsif) of Muslims from the Qur'an and true Islam. For example, the word fiqh, which means understanding science any or all knowledge in the holistic sense, was reduced to only mean Islamic Law and further confined to Islamic Personal Law.

As Ibn Khaldum pointed out in his Muqddimah there developed confusions, as to the scope and domain of rational (aqliyyah) and religious (shariyyah) sciences, mainly due to development/creeping in of psuedo-Islamic sciences like Muslim Mysticism (Sufism), dialectical metaphysics and speculative theology.

The Qur'an was/is not being used as a guidance and starting point to gain and evaluate all knowledge through its ethics and values. Rather, the Qur'an began to be read by the bedside of the dying to invoke 'blessings' instead of it being used in the classrooms and research laboratories for commerce, sciences and technology.

Factors contributing to downfall:

The medieval Muslim world experienced brutal Mongol-Tartar invasions during 7-8 A.H. (13 - 14 A.D.) and the crusades during 6 - 7 A.H. (12 - 13 A.D.) both of which contributed in disrupting Muslim culture. However, these external factors were preceded by internal changes in Muslim cultural mentality, which led to intellectual decadence, decline of science and technology, moral and material weakness, loss of power and thus military and political defeats.

The confusion between the two classes of knowledge that of shariyya and 'philosophical' or rational sciences; values and facts, was one of the most basic and important reasons for the post-medieval decline of Islamic idealistic rationalism and Islamic civilization.

Case Against Secularism:

 Secularism rejects or at least ignores religion because it claims that all religions, including Islam, are opposed to the pursuit of human welfare through reason, science, humanism, etc. Secularism has been accepted by those who found that their own scriptures (sources of their primary system of meanings) were incompatible with the principles of scientific exploration, experimentation and reason.

Secular Knowledge vis-ŕ-vis Islamization:

 Islamic Science is God's law of nature. To attribute to God the creation and management of the Universe is Islamization of Science. By contrast the personification of 'nature' as the creator of the universe and operator of the geophysical sciences is secularization of science. This, is tantamount to negation and rejection of God, i.e., kufr.

Muslims also recognize that secularists are guilty of a massive hypocrisy because they merely seek to avoid and bypass religion; they should either accept or reject it according to secularism's criteria of reason, science, etc. Secularists will find then that Islam is different.

Why & What of Islamization:

 The assimilation of all compatible human thought, religious or secular, compatible with Qur'an regardless of non-Muslim sources, is Islamization of knowledge. Islam sees no incompatibility between exploration and reasoning, which is encouraged by their scripture, the Qur'an, in contrast to other religions.

We may have thus, Islamic Environmental laws, and U S Environmental laws may be similar or even identical due to various causes and reasons. A most important reason is that, according to Islamic epistemology, natural reason, that has not been perverted by cultural factors leads to identity with Islamic thought, and that is because God has made man by nature both rational and ethically good.

Da'wah:

 The Qur'an should be an object and subject to work with rather than a decorative piece in each household. The non-Muslims could be introduced to the Qur'an and Islam and they might seek conviction on rational grounds to make a commitment to follow Islam. Contemporary Muslims must take lessons from the history and sociology of Islamic sciences of early centuries. Muslims would then be capable also of inviting all mankind to a God-oriented and Islamic rather than the 'modern' secularized and Godless science and technology.

The Fallible vs. Infallible:

All the proofs that a Muslim gathers as he traverses through the Quran towards the scientific discoveries, will however not lead a true Muslim to be dogmatic and self-sure of his knowledge. As he is alert to the fact of the limits and undemonstrable speculations of science and the fallible, and constrained human understanding.

While the Qur'an states that the heavens and the earth were once 'a smoke' and will be returned to being 'smoke' at the end of a fixed period, modern astronomers believe that the solar system was created from 'cosmic dust' and will become dust again. Is this the 'smoke' referred to in the Qur'an? The wise Muslim answers: 'Wa Allah A'lam'('Allah knows best')

The scientific knowledge acquired by man is fallible, prone to change, compared to the knowledge of the Divine Book, which is infallible and ultimate as it is from God.

Suggestions:

A detailed formulation of Islamization, in a generalized form and particularly suited for the social sciences and humanities, is given in Ismail R. Al-Faruqi's 'Islamization of Knowledge'. The simplest step would be for a Muslim to regularly read the Qur'an with an eye on the verses in one's field of work and study. The method that can be followed by each Muslim, within his or her own capabilities stepwise could be as follows:

All the key words in the Qur'an relevant to one's topic/subject of interest/study should be gathered. Then the verses relevant to these words can be collected. An authentic translation like that of Muhammad Asad's 'The Message of the Qur'an' can be referred to.

As many verses relevant to one's subject could be memorized for daily inspiration and to make the thought-process Islamic-oriented. This could contribute to research and publication in the field of sciences and technology, insha Arrahmaan. The above methods could further be modified to each person's needs and capabilities.

Does the Onus Rest on Mankind?:

 Any conflict between the knowledge derived from the Qur'an and pure reason must be merely an apparent conflict due to human error and weakness in man's reasoning, his assumptions, his instruments and methods, etc. It is man's responsibility to remove his errors, and reconcile the conclusions derived from the two sources of knowledge. Tawhid (oneness, unity) requires the deliberate use of both the Qur'an and, on the other hand, reason and nature to discover, develop and utilize Islamic science and technology.

Muslims should seek the knowledge and application of all disciplines, in the natural and social sciences, as an Islamic duty (fard) and necessity. The more and better they know an 'ilm by knowing God's will or laws concerning it in the physical and ethical realms, they can be to that extent true and good Muslims. They thus, rightfully deserve benefits and rewards both of 'this world' and the 'hereafter', insha Allah.

The feature above consists of references drawn chiefly from the books of Prof. S. Waqar Ahmed Husaini (www.islamicscience.org ) the bibliography of which in turn, range from This Religion of Islam, Social Justice in Islam of Syed Qutb, Muqaddimah: An Introduction of History of Ibn Khaldum, Al-Mouqidh, Book of Knowledge of Al-Ghazali, A Study of History, by A J Toynbee, Science and Civilizaion in Islam, Islamic Science:: An Illustrated Study of Syed Hossein Nasr, G Sarton's An Introductoin to the History of Science, A. A. Moudidi's A History of Muslim Philosophy.

adapted with slight modification from Kerala_Muslim  user group

 

 

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