ISLAM AND SCIENCE

Islam and Science provides the necessary background for understanding the contemporary relationship between Islam and modern science. Presenting an authentic discourse on the Islamic understanding of the physical cosmos, Muzaffar Iqbal explores Gods relationship to the created world and the historical and cultural forces that have shaped and defined Muslim attitudes toward science. What was Islamic in the Islamic scientific tradition? How was it rooted in the Qurbanic worldview and whatever happened to it? These are some of the facets of this rich and fascinating account of a tradition that spans eight centuries and covers a vast geographical region. Written from within, this ground-breaking exploration of some of the most fundamental questions in the Islam and science discourse explores the process of appropriation and transformation of the Islamic scientific tradition in Europe during the three centuries leading up to the Scientific Revolution.

Ashgate Science and Religion Series

Science and religion have often been thought to be at loggerheads but much contemporary work in this flourishing interdisciplinary field suggests this is far from the case. The Ashgate Science & Religion series presents exciting new work to advance interdisciplinary study, research and debate across key themes in science and religion, exploring the philosophical relations between the physical and the social sciences on the one hand and religious belief on the other. Contemporary issues in philosophy and theology are debated, as will prevailing cultural assumptions arising from the post-modernist distaste for many forms of reasoning. The series enables leading international authors from a range of different disciplinary perspectives to apply the insights of the various sciences, theology and philosophy and to look at the relations between the different disciplines and the rational connections that can be made between them. These accessible, stimulating new contributions to key topics across science and religion will appeal particularly to individual academics and researchers, graduates, postgraduates and upperundergraduate students.

Islam and Science

Muzaffar Iqbal

Ashgate

 Muzaffar Iqbal 2002 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher. The author has asserted his moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work. Published by Ashgate Publishing Limited Gower House Croft Road Aldershot Hampshire GU11 3HR England Ashgate Publishing Company 131 Main Street Burlington, VT 05401-5600 USA Ashgate website: http://www.ashgate.com British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Iqbal, Muzaffar Islam and Science (Ashgate science and religion series) 1. Islam and science I. Title 297.265 Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data Iqbal, Muzaffar Islam and science / Muzaffar Iqbal p. cm (Ashgate science and religion series) Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-7546-0799-2 (alk. paper)ISBN 0-7546-0800-X( pbk.:alk. paper) 1. Islam and science. 2. Relgion and science. I. Title. II. Series. BP190.5.S3 1672002 297.265dc21 ISBN 0 7546 0799 2 (HBK) ISBN 0 7546 0800 X (PBK)

2002066449

 ! (:)

And of His Signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the diversity of your languages and colors; indeed, there are Signs in this, for those who know.
(Q. 30:22)

For Basit Kareem Iqbal my son and companion in spirit

Contents
Acknowledgments Transliteration and Dates Abbreviations Introduction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 The Beginning And these are the Signs Making of the Tradition Islam and Science Nexus Withering of the Tradition Transmission and Transformation Winds of Change The Colonial Cut The Colonized Discourse The Scientific Exegesis The New Nexus Bibliography Index ix xi xiii xv 1 29 39 71 125 171 201 213 241 279 293 315 335

Acknowledgments
It is impossible to repay the debt one accumulates while writing a book. It is not even possible to enumerate the names of all those who contribute in the writing of a book, directly and indirectly. Such is the nature of this enterprise. And yet, one can take comfort in the fact that once published, the book does not remain the property of its author; it assumes a life of its own and repays those who help in its emergence, in its own currency. However, not withstanding this impossibility of acknowledging all sources, I wish to thank a few without whose involvement this book would have not come into existence. The book owes a great deal to the painstaking work of a small group of historians of science who have brought to light numerous manuscripts and treatises dealing with various aspects of the Islamic scientific tradition. Their work has just begun to reconstruct the contours of the Islamic scientific tradition. With thousands of manuscripts still waiting to be studied, it is still a long way before we can have any definite idea of the nature of this tradition that lasted longer than the Greek, Persian or even the modern scientific traditions. While historians of science are painstakingly reconstructing information, it is important that their findings be placed in the larger context of the Islamic tradition of learning of which the scientific tradition was merely one part. This is a task that historians of science leave to the general historians who in turn leave it to the specialists. Hence, the cultural matrix which gave birth to the Islamic scientific tradition has not received attention it deserves. Likewise, the factors that contributed to the decline and eventual disappearance of the Islamic scientific tradition still remain a mystery. This book attempts to construct a coherent account of the larger religious and cultural background in which the Islamic scientific tradition came into existence; it also explores though without final conclusionsthe vexingly complex issue of decline. I am aware that my conclusions, however tentative, might not be shared by certain historians of science whose work forms the building blocks for these conclusions. But I have attempted to remain faithful to historical facts. I am grateful to my friend Dr. Zafar Ishaq Ansari who read the whole manuscript. He read the manuscript at a time when numerous other matters demanded his attention. His painstaking attention to details has been most helpful in standardizing the transliterated text. I am also

Acknowledgments

thankful to him for pointing out certain crucial conceptual issues which needed clarification or elaboration. The book would not have come into existence without the kindness and love of my immediate family. Their involvement in the project was not only through their generous acceptance of my physical, emotional and mental absence from family life while the work was in progress, but also through direct participation. I particularly cherish the memories of our excitement that each finished chapter brought to the household. The delightful face of my daughter Noor upon seeing me coming out of my study with a finished chapter in hand, the warm reception that generally followed and the discussions we had on the chapter not only rejuvenated me by somehow obliterating the effects of long and solitary labor but also brought a happiness that is almost impossible to express. Elma, my wife, proofread the whole manuscript several times, helped in the compilation of bibliography and the index. Her involvement in the project was, however, much more than this and it remains a cherished memory. Likewise, the book owes a great deal to the love and support of my son Basit, to whom the book is affectionately dedicated. Needless to say that only I am responsible for all the flaws and shortcomings that remain. A work of this nature can never be a finished work. The Islamic scientific tradition was so intimately connected with the worldview created by Islam and so thoroughly rooted in the Qurban that its study encompasses much more than a single book can hope to do. The study of this relationship is, however, essential for any understanding of the contemporary dilemmas faced by the Muslim world. I hope this work contributes to this wider understanding in some small way.

Wuddistan Rajab 1423 AH September 2002

Transliteration and Dates

Transliteration of Arabic, Persian, and Urdu follows the convention of the Encyclopaedia of Islam with the following modifications: j is used for jim; q for qaf and no letter is underlined. The Arabic guttural consonants hamza and cayn are represented as b and c, respectively; hamzat al-wasl is also represented by b. Certain well-known place names have been left in their familiar form which may present occasional anomalies but the benefit of writing Baghdad and Nishapur, rather than Baghdad and Nishabur, are obvious. Likewise, Makkah and Madinah; and not Makka and Madina. However, there are exceptions, dictated by usage or need to distinguish between certain letters; thus, Basra and not Basra. Personal names have only been transliterated for the pre-nineteenth century period; thus Ibn Sina and not Ibn Sina but Muhammad Iqbal and not Muhammad Iqbal. There are a few exceptions to this practice where less common names from the post-nineteenth century era have been transliterated. The Qurbanic passages are cited in italics without quotation marks; this distinguishes the Qurbanic text from the rest without excessive quotation marks. All translations are mine. References to Hadith (sayings of the Prophet) are cited as: compiler/book number/hadith number. Double dates have been used for the pre-nineteenth century period when discussing events or persons in the Islamic tradition. This helps the reader to quickly place the developments within the Islamic Hijra Calendar as well as in the Common Era (CE); it also provides a comparative time scale. The Hijra Calendar uses the event of the Hijra (migration) of Prophet Muhammad from Makkah to Madinah in 622 CE as its starting date. The 1st of Muharram, 1 after the Hijra of the Prophet corresponds to Friday, July 16th, 622 of the Julian Calendar. The Muslim year is almost ten days shorter than the solar year; hence the two overlap in an irregular manner, with the hijra year (AH) often spanning two years in the Common Era. Common Era date can be calculated as: CE = 622 + H (H33).

Abbreviations
DSB EI

Fihrist

Ihyab Wafayat
Q.

GAL GAS

Dictionary of Scientific Biography Encyclopaedia of Islam, new edition al-Fihrist Geschichte der arabischen Litteratur Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums Ihyab cUlum al-Din al-Qurban Wafayat al-Acyan wa Anbab Abnab al-Zaman