[This mixing between what should and should not be discussed scientifically was carried to Muslims, who began discussing intellectual issues from a scientific approach. For example, Muslims began discussing the ''Scientific Miracles of the Qur'an,'' not realizing that the Qur'an is not a book of physics or chemistry but rather, as Allah (swt) described it, ''Hudan lil-Muttaqin,'' which discusses truth vs. falsehood, halal and haram, and the previous prophets and nations in order Muslim to extract lessons from.]
Islam and Science
When one surveys the world situation, it is clear that the West stands as the dominant power. The Western powers have used this position to establishing the Western culture as the way of life for all people and nations around the world. In order to facilitate the acceptance of their culture and way of life, the West often points to their significant progress in many facets of life and attributes this success to the Western culture, particularly in the fields of science and technology. During the past half century alone, humanity has witnessed the deciphering of the genetic code, the successful cloning of animals, the landing of men on the moon, the explosion of internet and wireless technology, just to name a few of the landmark achievements that have sprung forth from the West. In fact, the West prides itself in its scientific and technological breakthroughs, claiming that such achievements are a natural outcome of the Western culture and way of life.
This claim that science and Western culture are intertwined emerged as a byproduct of the Middle Ages, where the theocratic authorities which dominated Europe stifled scientific and technological progress of any sort. All types of scientific innovation were branded as the work of the Devil, and many thinkers, intellectuals, and scientists were either forced to renounce their ideas or were executed. This iron-fisted policy resulted in a backlash among the intellectuals, ensuing into a centuries-old conflict that ultimately culminated in the birth of Capitalism with Secularism as its ideological foundation. From the onset of Capitalism, the West experienced the Renaissance and Enlightenment, a period of tremendous scientific and intellectual growth, which culminated in the Industrial Revolution. This remarkable achievement caused many in the West to believe that religion and science are mutually antagonistic – science belonging to the realm of reason, intellect, and rationale; and religion belonging to the realm of faith, metaphysics, and theology.
Today, the term ''science'' has become synonymous with progress and advancement, whereas religion is viewed as something backward that stifles progress and is counterproductive to reasoning. In order to promote the idea of Secularism among the masses, the West is attempting to sell the idea that science and intellect are one an the same, that intellect and religion exist in two mutually exclusive spheres, and that scientific and technological progress is a direct result of the Western Capitalist ideology. Muslims have become influenced with this idea, to the extent that many Muslims believe that Islam must be proven scientifically in order to give the Islamic viewpoint any credibility from an intellectual standpoint. Furthermore, many Muslims have begun to believe that, if they are to become scientifically and technologically advanced, they must emulate the West and detach Islam from the public life by confining Islam to a mere religion like the West did to Christianity and Judaism.
What is often overlooked is that, under the Islamic civilization when Islam was implemented as a system of life and the Shariah was the dominant system, science and technology flourished. This progress came as a result of the ability of the Muslims to understand the relationship between science and Islam. Nowadays, this relationship has been misunderstood. Therefore, in order to clarify the nature of this relationship, certain issues must be addressed:
Ø What is science and scientific thought?
Ø What is the relationship between scientific and intellectual thought?
Ø What is the relationship between science and ideology?
Only then can the relationship between Islam, Western Culture, and science be understood in the correct context.
Science and Intellect
Scientific and intellectual thinking are often thought to describe the same phenomena. However, the reality is that the scientific and intellectual thinking refer to two distinct ways of thinking. The intellectual method of thinking is defined as the process by which the reality is sensed by utilizing one or more of the senses, and this sensation being transferred to the brain where it is linked with relevant information relating to the reality in question, resulting in a conclusion or judgment relating to the reality. The intellectual, or ''rational,'' method entails linking the sensation with previous or relevant information to produce a thought. Thus, the intellectual method entails thinking about the reality or issue at hand as it is.
In contrast to the rational method, the scientific method of thinking is based upon performing experiments in which the experimenter subjugates a tangible reality to conditions, and based upon his observations and the data collected, the scientist reaches a conclusion. The scientific research does not depend on the situation or the reality as is but relies upon subjecting an object to an environment different than its natural environment and then observing the impact of these imposed conditions upon the object. This process is referred to as the scientific experiment, which constitutes the cornerstone of the scientific method of thinking.
Many people tend to confuse between the scientific and rational methods of thought because there are many similarities between the two methods. Both the rational and scientific methods of thinking requires a reality, senses in order to perceive the reality, and a human brain in order to perform the research and analysis needed to arrive to a conclusion. However, the difference lay in the type of reality involved, and as a result, the type of research and analysis performed in the scientific process will differ from the rational process. The scientific method cannot be used in all disciplines because not everything can be subjected to experimentation. While areas of knowledge such as physics, biology, and engineering, can be discussed based on experimentation, areas of knowledge such as philosophy, history, economics, law, and doctrines of belief cannot be discussed using the scientific method because such disciplines are not tangible material that can be subjected to experimental manipulation.
To elaborate further, the purpose of any scientific experiment is to determine the effect of certain conditions or factors on a tangible material. Establishing an experiment of any kind requires a means of comparison, which is achieved by designating two groups: the ''Control group'' and the ''Experimental group,'' where the control group is not subjected to the experimental conditions. Furthermore, in order for the experiment to have any credibility, the experimenter must select his control and experimental subjects in a manner that eliminates or minimizes as mush as possible the effect of differences between the two groups on the outcome of the study. These conditions place restrictions on the type of realities that can be subjected to scientific experimentation. Scientifically testing the effect of an ideology on the progress of a nation would require subjecting one nation to an ideology and stripping another nation of the ideology in order to determine whether an ideology would result in progress. Furthermore, scientifically testing the effect of Arabic language on the Islamic revival would require the experimenter to split the Muslim Ummah in half, impose Arabic on one part and deprive the other part of the Ummah from learning the Arabic language and then determine the outcome of these imposed conditions.
While these scenarios are unrealistic to implement as a scientific experiment, such issues can be discussed intellectually. For example, the effect of an ideology upon a nation can be determined by studying the nature of the human being and arriving to the conclusion that the human being asks certain fundamental questions which are essential to his existence, such as what is before and after life and what is the purpose of life. In addition, the human being possesses certain instincts and needs which must be satisfied. Furthermore, the human being lives in a society in which he is forced to deal with other members of the society. Based upon these observations, the human being requires a collection of ideas to provide answers to his questions, and this collection of ideas must provide a comprehensive system to organize his needs and to govern the relationships that exist in a society. Therefore, the human being requires an ideology, which is a system of life based upon a fundamental idea, where the idea shapes the thinking and orientation of the human being to proceed through life in a certain direction and the system that emanates from this idea serves as the practical mechanism by which the course of the human being is directed and organized. Without an ideology, the human being would be devoid of answers to his most basic questions, and he would live like the animals in the jungle. Therefore, it is impossible to expect any nation or society to progress unless it adopted an ideology.
This fact is further proven when one examines the course of nations, both in history and in contemporary society. The Arabs before Islam were the most backward societies that existed during their time. However, after adopting Islam as an ideology, they became the superpower of the known world within a generation, and the Muslim Ummah was able to maintain this status for over a millennium. Throughout the course of time, the Muslim Ummah increased its material strength tremendously, to the point that today the Muslims are a large portion of the entire human race and dominate the globe in terms of their capacity of natural resources. But in the absence of the Islamic ideology, the Muslim nations, with all of their material strength and capacity, are among the most backward societies in the world. The same phenomenon can be witnessed among other nations. Before the Communist Party assumed power, Russia was a feudal society which was far behind Europe. After the Russians adopted Communism, they initiated the Space Age after a generation. All of these facts were concluded based upon an intellectual study of the human beings and of nations, without any scientific experiments or research.
It is these subtle distinctions that differentiate the scientific and rational methods of thinking. Unfortunately, the West promoted the idea that scientific research can be conducted in areas of knowledge that are outside the scope of science under the guise of ''soft sciences'' (as opposed to the ''hard sciences'' like physics and chemistry). In addition, they promoted the notion that the only conclusion that has any value or credibility is the scientific conclusion. If an intellectual research was presented, even though it may have correctly described the reality or issue at hand, then it would not be given the same worth unless it was given the label of being a scientific study. The impact of this upon Muslims will be discussed later.
Science and Ideology
As stated earlier, the West prides itself upon the notion that the scientific and technological revolutions that it experienced is a natural byproduct of Western ideology and culture. However, the claim that scientific and technological growth is unique to Western ideology is one of the most frequently propagated myths. Science is the process of discovering the physical parameters of the system which Allah (swt) created to govern the universe and attempting to quantify these parameters in such a way that humans can understand. And technology is the application of this scientific knowledge to produce certain tools to assist the human being. Therefore, science and technology are universal phenomena that are not unique to any particular point of view of life. One will find that, given the same physical conditions, scientific experiments will produce the same results for all people regardless of their views. Water will boil at a certain fixed temperature, regardless of whether the observer is Atheist, Muslim, Christian, or Buddhist. Similarly, one will also discover that technological tools carry out fixed functions which depend upon their properties and not upon the belief of the user. A refrigerator works the same for a Muslims, a Communist, and a Capitalist. The same can be said about an airplane, a car, a gun, or a bomb. Thus, there is no such thing as a ''Communist bomb,'' a ''Capitalist bomb,'' or an ''Islamic bomb.''
In contrast, ideologies differ from one another, and each ideology – whether it is the ideology of Islam, Capitalism, or Communism – shapes the outlook of the individual and the society in a unique manner. When one surveys human history, a historical fact is realized: The adoption of any ideology will result in progress. The reason behind this has to do with the nature of the ideology itself. An ideology consists of a doctrine of belief which provides certain answers to the fundamental questions that every human being possesses. This doctrine of belief is known in Arabic as the Aqeedah, and this Aqeedah is the basis for distinguishing one ideology from the others. The Aqeedah also serves as the basis for a specific frame of reference, a unique culture, and a system of life to govern the affairs of human beings. The ideology gives the nation a specific objective to work towards, a vision to aspire to, and a frame of reference for extracting solutions to their problems. Therefore, adopting any ideology, even a false ideology, will provide a nation with a vision to work for and the necessary momentum to achieve these objectives in an organized fashion.
When the West adopted Capitalism as their ideology, they experienced a dramatic progress. They used whatever existing science and technologies were available at the time to advance, protect, and facilitate the implementation of their ideology. In addition, the momentum created by the ideology gave them the drive to explore new sciences and technologies to help them advance their ideology and viewpoint in life. When the Russians adopted Communism, they too advanced in science and technology. Similarly, the Arabs before Islam were a backward people. However, upon adopting the ideology of Islam, they experienced rapid scientific and technological advancement. And under the ruling of Islam, the Muslims were the pinnacle of technological and scientific achievement for over a millennium.
Therefore, it is the ideology which results in the revival. Science and technology are universal tools that are available for any nation or people to use in order to implement their system of life and propagate their culture. What resulted in the revival of the West was the adoption of Capitalism, the same manner in which Communism resulted in the advancement of the Russians, and Islam resulted in the advancement of the Arabs. However, because Capitalism and Communism are false ideologies, the advancement that was experienced was only limited to certain aspects of life. While both Capitalism and Communism achieved significant advancement in certain material aspects of civilization, as witnessed by the scientific and technological feats that were achieved by the West and the former Soviet Union, the quality of life remained substandard for the masses under both ideologies. In addition, both ideologies failed to create any type of tranquility for the human being because they failed to correctly address the most basic questions that the human being possesses. And today, under the dominance of Capitalism, the world continues to suffer from oppression, misery, and epidemic social illnesses. However, Islam, being the correct ideology, resulted in a comprehensive revival. Islam not only uplifted the society technologically and scientifically, but also uplifted the lifestyle of the human being in all aspects and elevated the society to a very high standard.
In summary, the relationship between science and ideology is clear. It is the ideology, and not the advancement of science, which will result in progress and advancement for the human being. Furthermore, the ideology is what will create the momentum for scientific and technological advancement. The Muslim Ummah graduates the highest number of scientists and educated minds of any part of the world, and yet the Muslim countries are among the most backward societies in the world. In contrast, when the West initially adopted Capitalism, very few people were educated, yet they were able to advance in a short period of time. Similarly, the Russians before Communism were not nearly as educated as the Muslim are today. Yet, after adopting Communism, they were able to initiate the Space Age within thirty years.
Science and Islam
The scientific method was embraced and promoted by the West after witnessing its impact on scientific and technological advancement. However, the West extended the application of this method to areas where it cannot be used. As a result, many non-scientific areas of knowledge were given the term ''scientific,'' such as anthropology, psychology, sociology, politics, and education, despite the fact that human beings, human behavior, economy, society, and politics, are intellectual fields that lay beyond the ability of science to address. Although these areas of knowledge require research, observation, and analysis, the type of research and analysis that such fields require is not scientific.
Many Muslims were confused by these areas of knowledge and began studying such ''soft sciences'' as global disciplines that are not influenced by any distinct point of view of life. In reality, such areas of knowledge were specific to the Western point of view and culture. Those who laid them down, such as Freud, Adam Smith, and Machiavelli, were not scientists but Western thinkers who studied human beings, human behavior, societies, and their relationships, based on Western culture. And the conclusions that they reached were also based on Western culture.
This mixing between what should and should not be discussed scientifically was carried to Muslims, who began discussing intellectual issues from a scientific approach. For example, Muslims began discussing the ''Scientific Miracles of the Qur'an,'' not realizing that the Qur'an is not a book of physics or chemistry but rather, as Allah (swt) described it, ''Hudan lil-Muttaqin,'' which discusses truth vs. falsehood, halal and haram, and the previous prophets and nations in order Muslim to extract lessons from. All that is mentioned regarding some natural phenomena, such as rain, the shape of the earth, and the development of the fetus, was mentioned as a proof of Allah's existence and signs of His Might and Wisdom. Thus, the Sahabah understood the Qur'an much more than the Muslims today, even though Muslims in today's age witnessed, and in some instances pioneered, great advancements in science and technology. The Sahabah studied the Qur'an and the Sunnah and implemented them as orders and systems that governed the society, whereas Muslims today began discussing the Qur'an and Sunnah using the scientific approach and started holding conferences and publishing books to this end, which distracted Muslims from their objective of establishing the Islamic system and carrying Islam to the world.
Islam clearly demarcated the lab and the physical universe, and not the Qur'an and the Sunnah, as the scope of applied and experimental science. It was reported in a hadith that a group of people came to the Prophet (saaw) asking him about the pollination of dates. He instructed them not to pollinate the date palms themselves since the wind may carry the seeds. That year there was no harvest; they informed him of this, and he told them, ''You know best regarding your worldly affairs,'' referring to scientific research. Also, Imam Muslim reported that the Prophet (saaw) said:
''I am a human being like you, but I receive the revelation. If I instructed you on something related to the Deen, then take it, but if I instructed you on something related to your worldly affairs, then you know best.''
Therefore, Islam clearly distinguished between the scope of science and technology, which is the lab and the physical universe, and the scope of the Deen, which is the life affairs and the systems governing the relationships and issues that human beings are confronted with. In spite of this distinction, there are so many shaykhs issuing fatwas on scientific issues based on their understanding of some ayahs and hadiths, such as the rotation and shape of the earth, the atom, the fetus and its development, and many other scientific issues. In addition, many Muslims are busy digging into the Qur'an and the Sunnah for a cure for cancer or diabetes rather than conducting the necessary research in the lab. The problem with such an approach is that those scientific fatwas may become part of the Deen itself, the way it happened with the Church during the European Middle Ages. Such a trend could lead either to not accepting any scientific theory or conclusion unless a fatwa exists supporting it, or a potential conflict between the Deen and science if the scientific research proves the error in any fatwa.
Conclusion
When Europe experienced their Dark Ages, the Muslims had the privilege of not experiencing it because they possessed the clear distinction between the scope of scientific thinking and the scope of the Deen. In addition, the Muslims understood the purpose of the Qur'an and the Sunnah, which was to govern the lives of the people and not to serve as the subject of laboratory research. However, it seems that the West is pushing the Muslims to undergo the same Dark Ages by blurring the distinction between the scientific and the rational thinking.
Therefore, it is imperative for the Muslims to understand the clear distinction between Islam and science. Science is a tool, which the Muslims can use for their benefit; however, science should not be the basis or foundation for any revival. Islam is the basis for the revival of the Muslims. Furthermore, the Qur'an and Sunnah are not lab manuals which explain the laws of physics and chemistry. Rather, the Qur'an and Sunnah are life manuals which instruct the human beings how to organize their lives and how to shape their thinking. Islam, as an ideology, is what will uplift the Muslims and provide the Muslim Ummah with the momentum to progress.
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