ISLAM AND SCIENCE

ISLAM AND SCIENCE Emergence of the Modern World S O LONG as natural phenomena were attributed to supernatural causes, they were regarded as objects of worship. Natural phenomena and objects such as fire, water, sun and moon were venerated and feared. The laws of nature, the application of which would enable man to reach the moon and make use of nature to one’s advantage, have existed throughout the universe since time immemorial, yet it took man centuries to discover them. Given the possibilities of nature, why did so many thousands of years have to elapse in the course of man’s development before he felt ready to conquer nature? The answer to this is the prevalence of culture of worshipping nature. For instance man considered the moon a deity. The moon, with its brilliant silvery light, inspired man to bow before it rather than try to conquer it. Holding the moon to be sacred was a major obstacle to even thinking of conquering it. Islam in the 7th century paved the way for modern science by distinguishing between a Creator and the rest of the universe. The entire universe is created by one God. No creation possesses any form of divinity. This creed revolutionized human thought. Nature which was once held to be object of worship became an object of investigation. Observation and experiment replaced assumption and speculation. In a magnificent 5-volume work A History of Science by Henry Smith Williams and Edward Huntington Williams, it is mentioned that: There cannot well be a doubt that the adoption of those broad principles of right and wrong which underlie the entire structure of modern civilization was due to scientific induction, in other words, to the belief, based on observation and experience, that the principles implied were essential to communal progress. (Vol. 1) The role of Islam in the emergence and development of science is generally acknowledged. Dennis Overbye in The New York Times, dated Oct. 30, 2001 writes: “Commanded by the Koran to seek knowledge and read nature for signs of the Creator, and inspired by a treasure trove of ancient Greek Islam in the 7th century paved the way for modern science by distinguishing between a Creator and the rest of the universe.