"Science and Islam" redirects here.

For the historical development of science in the Islamic

world, see Science in medieval Islam. For the documentary, see Science and Islam
(documentary).

Part of a series on

Islam

Beliefs[show]

Practices[show]

Texts and sciences[show]

History[show]

Culture and society[hide]

 Academics
 Animals
 Art
 Calendar
 Children
 Demographics
 Denominations
 Economics
 Education
 Exorcism
 Feminism
 Festivals
 Finance
 LGBT
 Madrasa
 Moral teachings
 Mosque
 Mysticism
  Philosophy
 Poetry
 Politics
 Proselytizing
 Science
 Slavery
 Social welfare
 Women

Related topics[show]

 Islam portal

 v
 t
 e

Muslim scholars have developed a spectrum of viewpoints on science within the context
of Islam.[1] The Quran and Islam allows for much interpretation when it comes to science.
Scientists of medieval Muslim civilization (e.g. Ibn al-Haytham) contributed to the new
discoveries of science.[2][3][4] From the eighth to fifteenth century, Muslim mathematicians and
astronomers furthered the development of almost all areas of mathematics.[5][6] At the same time,
concerns have been raised about the lack of scientific literacy in parts of the modern Muslim
world.[7]
Some Muslim writers have claimed that the Quran made prescient statements about scientific
phenomena that were later confirmed by scientific research for instance as regards to the
structure of the embryo, our solar system, and the creation of the universe.[8][9]However, much of
science in Islam relies on the Quran as a basis of evidence and Islamic scientists often use one
another as sources.[10] Unlike early Christians who used science to explain scripture[citation needed],
Muslims pursued science with an underlying assumption of confirming the Quran.[5]

Contents

 1Terminology
 2Perspectives on Islam and science
 3Alleged scientific miracles in the Quran
o 3.1History
o 3.2Claims
o 3.3Criticism
 4History
o 4.1Classical science in the Muslim world
 4.1.1Science and religious practice
o 4.2Arrival of modern science in the Muslim world
o 4.3Decline
o 4.4Muslim Nobel laureates
 5Biological evolution
 6See also
 7References
 8External links
Terminology[edit]
Science is often defined as the pursuit of knowledge and understanding of the natural and social
world following a systematic methodology based on evidence.[11] It is a system of acquiring
knowledge based on empiricism, experimentation and methodological naturalism, as well as to
the organized body of knowledge human beings have gained by such research. Scientists
maintain that scientific investigation needs to adhere to the scientific method, a process for
evaluating empirical knowledge that explains observable events without recourse
to supernatural notions.
According to Toby Huff, there is no true word for science in Arabic (the language of Islam) as
commonly defined in English and other languages. In Arabic, "science" can simply mean different
forms of knowledge.[5] For example, physics is more literally translated from Arabic as "the
science of nature", ‫‘علم الطبيعة‬ilm aṭ-ṭabī‘a; arithmetic as the "science of accounts" ‫علم الحساب‬ilm al-
hisab.[12] Religious study of Islam (Tasfir, musnad, etc.) is called ‫" الديني العلم‬science of religion" (ad-
dinniya al-ilm), using the same word for science as "the science of nature".[12] According to the
Hans Wehr Dictionary of Arabic, While ‫ ’علم‬ilm is defined as "knowledge, learning, lore," etc. the
word for "science" is the plural form ‫ ’علوم‬ulūm. (So, for example, ‫كلية العلوم‬kullīyat al-‘ulūm, the
Faculty of Science of the Egyptian University, is literally "the Faculty of Sciences ...")[12]

Perspectives on Islam and science[edit]

This section may lend undue weight to certain ideas, incidents,
or controversies. Please help to create a more balanced
presentation. Discuss and resolve this issue before removing this
message. (August 2017)

Whether Islamic culture has promoted or hindered scientific advancement is disputed.

Many Muslims agree that doing science is an act of religious merit, even a collective duty of the
Muslim community.[13] According to M. Shamsher Ali, there are around 750 verses in the Quran
dealing with natural phenomena. Many verses of the Quran ask mankind to study nature, and
this has been interpreted to mean an encouragement for scientific inquiry,[14]and the investigation
of the truth.[14][additional citation(s) needed] Some include, “Travel throughout the earth and see how He brings
life into being” (Q.29:20), “Behold in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the
alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding ...” (Q.3:190)
Historical Islamic scientists like Al-Biruni and Al-Battani derived their inspiration from verses of
the Quran. Mohammad Hashim Kamali has stated that "scientific observation, experimental
knowledge and rationality" are the primary tools with which humanity can achieve the goals laid
out for it in the Quran.[15] Ziauddin Sardar argues that Muslims developed the foundations of
modern science, by "highlighting the repeated calls of the Quran to observe and reflect upon
natural phenomenon".[16] "The 'scientific method,' as it is understood today, was first developed
by Muslim scientists" like Ibn al-Haytham and Al-Biruni, along with numerous other Muslim
scientists.
The physicist Abdus Salam believed there is no contradiction between Islam and the discoveries
that science allows humanity to make about nature and the universe; and that the Quran and the
Islamic spirit of study and rational reflection was the source of extraordinary civilizational
development. Salam highlights, in particular, the work of Ibn al-Haytham and Al-Biruni as the
pioneers of empiricism who introduced the experimental approach, breaking way from Aristotle's
influence, and thus giving birth to modern science. Salam differentiated between metaphysics
and physics, and advised against empirically probing certain matters on which "physics is silent
and will remain so," such as the doctrine of "creation from nothing" which in Salam's view is
outside the limits of science and thus "gives way" to religious considerations.[17]
Islam has its own world view system including beliefs about "ultimate reality, epistemology,
ontology, ethics, purpose, etc." according to Mehdi Golshani.[18]
Toshihiko Izutsu writes that in Islam, nature is not seen as something separate but as an integral
part of a holistic outlook on God, humanity, the world and the cosmos. These links imply a sacred
aspect to Muslims' pursuit of scientific knowledge, as nature itself is viewed in the Quran as a
compilation of signs pointing to the Divine.[19] It was with this understanding that the pursuit of
science, especially prior to the colonization of the Muslim world, was respected in Islamic
civilizations.[20]
The astrophysicist Nidhal Guessoum argues that the Quran has developed "the concept of
knowledge" that encourages scientific discovery.[21] He writes:
"The Qur'an draws attention to the danger of conjecturing without evidence (And follow not that
of which you have not the (certain) knowledge of... 17:36) and in several different verses asks
Muslims to require proofs (Say: Bring your proof if you are truthful 2:111), both in matters of
theological belief and in natural science."
Guessoum cites Ghaleb Hasan on the definition of "proof" according the Quran being "clear and
strong... convincing evidence or argument." Also, such a proof cannot rely on an argument from
authority, citing verse 5:104. Lastly, both assertions and rejections require a proof, according to
verse 4:174.[22] Ismail al-Faruqi and Taha Jabir Alalwani are of the view that any reawakening of
the Muslim civilization must start with the Quran; however, the biggest obstacle on this route is
the "centuries old heritage of tafseer (exegesis) and other classical disciplines" which inhibit a
"universal, epistemiological and systematic conception" of the Quran's message.[23] The
philosopher Muhammad Iqbal considered the Quran's methodology and epistemology to be
empirical and rational.[24]
Islamists such as Sayyid Qutb argue that since "Islam appointed" Muslims "as representatives of
God and made them responsible for learning all the sciences,"[25] science cannot but prosper in a
society of true Muslims. (However, Qutb states, in Muslim majority countries governments have
failed to follow the sharia law in its completeness, which he believes explains the failure of
science and many other things in the Muslim world.)[25]
Others claim traditional interpretations of Islam are not compatible with the development of
science. Author Rodney Stark argues that Islam's lag behind the West in scientific advancement
after (roughly) 1500 AD was due to opposition by traditional ulema to efforts to formulate
systematic explanation of natural phenomenon with "natural laws." He claims that they believed
such laws were blasphemous because they limit "God's freedom to act" as He wishes, a principle
enshired in aya 14:4: "God sendeth whom He will astray, and guideth whom He will," which (they
believed) applied to all of creation not just humanity.[26]
Taner Edis wrote An Illusion of Harmony: Science and Religion in Islam.[27] Edis worries that
secularism in Turkey, one of the most westernized Muslim nations, is on its way out; he points
out that Turkey rejects evolution by a large majority. To Edis, many Muslims appreciate
technology and respect the role that science plays in its creation. As a result, he says there is a
great deal of Islamic pseudoscience attempting to reconcile this respect with other respected
religious beliefs. Edis maintains that the motivation to read modern scientific truths into holy
books is also stronger for Muslims than Christians.[28] This is because, according to Edis, true
criticism of the Quran is almost non-existent in the Muslim world. While Christianity is less prone
to see its Holy Book as the direct word of God, fewer Muslims will compromise on this idea –
causing them to believe that scientific truths simply must appear in the Quran. However, Edis
argues that there are endless examples of scientific discoveries that could be read into the Bible
or Quran if one would like to.[28] Edis qualifies that Muslim thought certainly cannot be understood
by looking at the Quran alone; cultural and political factors play large roles.[28]

Alleged scientific miracles in the Quran[edit]

History[edit]
Starting in the 1970s and 80s a "popular literature known as ijaz" (miracle) and often called
"Scientific miracles in the Quran" developed and spread to Muslim bookstores, websites, and on
television programs of Islamic preachers.[29] According to author Ziauddin Sardar, the movement
has created a "global craze in Muslim societies".[29] The ijazmovement/industry is "widespread
and well-funded"[30] with "millions" from Saudi Arabia.[29]

Claims[edit]
Enthusiasts of the movement argue that the Quran abounds with "scientific facts" centuries
before their discovery by science and thus demonstrating that the Quran must be of divine
origin.[31] Among these miracles alleged to be found in the Quran are "everything, from relativity,
quantum mechanics, Big Bang theory, black holes and pulsars, genetics, embryology, modern
geology, thermodynamics, even the laser and hydrogen fuel cells".[29]
Zafar Ishaq Ansari describes the idea that "the Quran (and the Sunna)" contain "a substantially
large number of scientific truths that were discovered only in modern times" as one of the "new
themes and emphases" of "scientific exegesis of the Quran".[32]
Some examples are the verse "So verily I swear by the stars that run and hide ..." (Q.81:15–16)
or "And I swear by the stars' positions-and that is a mighty oath if you only knew". (Qur'an,
56:75–76)[33] which demonstrate (to proponents) the Quran's knowledge of black holes; "[I swear
by] the Moon in her fullness; that ye shall journey on from stage to stage" (Q.84:18–19) refers to
human flight into outer space.[29]
The Quran contains many verses describing creation of the universe; Muslims
believe God created the heavens and earth in six days;[7:54] the earth was created in two
days,[41:9] and in two other days (into a total of four) God furnished the creation of the earth with
mountains, rivers and fruit-gardens[41:10]. The heavens and earth formed from one mass which had
to be split[21:30], the heavens used to be smoke[41:11], and form layers, one above the other[67:3]. The
angels inhabit the Seven heavens. The lowest heaven is adorned with lights[41:12], the sun and the
moon (which follow a regular path)[71:16][14:33], the stars[37:6] and the constellations of the Zodiac[15:16].[34]

Criticism[edit]
See also: Criticism of the Quran
As of 2008, both (some) Muslims and non-Muslims have disputed whether there actually are
"scientific miracles" in the Quran. Critics argue that while it is generally agreed the Quran
contains many verses proclaiming the wonders of nature,

 it requires "considerable mental gymnastics and distortions to find scientific facts or theories
in these verses" (Ziauddin Sardar);[29]
 that the Quran is the source of guidance in right faith (imam) and righteous action (alladhina
amanu wa amilu l-salihat) but the idea that it contained "all knowledge, including scientific"
knowledge has not been a mainstream view among Muslim scholarship (Zafar Ishaq
Ansari);[32] and
 "Science is ever-changing ... the Copernican revolution overturning polemic models of the
universe to Einstein’s general relativity overshadowing Newtonian mechanisms". So while
"Science is probabilistic in nature" the Quran deals in "absolute certainty". (Ali Talib);[35]
 Nidhal Guessoum has also been highly critical of "pseudo-scientific claims" made about the
Quran.[22]
An example of where earlier beliefs founded on interpretations of the Quran changed following
the introduction of modern technology/science to the Muslim world, is knowledge of the gender of
an unborn baby, made possible by ultrasound technology. According to Nidhal Guessoum, "for a
long time Muslims believed, on the basis on their literal understanding of some Quranic verses,
that the gender of an unborn baby is only known to God", i.e. ghayb. Ultrasound technology, "led
many Muslims to realize that first-degree readings of the Quran can lead to contradictions and
predicaments".[36]

History[edit]
Classical science in the Muslim world[edit]
See also: Science in medieval Islam, Islamic cosmology, Astronomy in medieval
Islam, Mathematics in medieval Islam, Physics in medieval Islam, and Medicine in medieval
Islam

Work in the observatorium of Taqi al-Din

One of the earliest accounts of the use of science in the Islamic world is during the eighth and
sixteenth centuries, known as the Islamic Golden Age.[37] It is also known as "Arabic science"
because of the majority of texts that were translated from Greek into Arabic. The mass
translation movement, that occurred in the ninth century allowed for the integration of science
into the Islamic world. The teachings from the Greeks were now translated and their scientific
knowledge was now passed on to the Arabs world. Despite these terms, not all scientists during
this period were Muslim or Arab, as there were a number of notable non-Arab scientists (most
notably Persians), as well as some non-Muslim scientists, who contributed to scientific studies in
the Muslim world. The mass translation movement in the ninth century allowed for the integration
of science into the Islamic world.
A number of modern scholars such as Fielding H. Garrison, Sultan Bashir Mahmood, Hossein
Nasr consider modern science and the scientific method to have been greatly inspired by Muslim
scientists who introduced a modern empirical, experimental and quantitativeapproach to
scientific inquiry.[citation needed] Certain advances made by medieval Muslim
astronomers, geographers and mathematicians were motivated by problems presented in Islamic
scripture, such as Al-Khwarizmi's (c. 780–850) development of algebra in order to solve
the Islamic inheritance laws,[38] and developments in astronomy, geography, spherical
geometry and spherical trigonometry in order to determine the direction of the Qibla, the times of
Salah prayers, and the dates of the Islamic calendar.[39] These new studies of math and science
would allow for the Islamic world to get ahead of the rest of the world.‘With these inspiration at
work, Muslim mathematicians and astronomers contributed significantly to the development to
just about every domain of mathematics between the eight and fifteenth centuries”[40]
The increased use of dissection in Islamic medicine during the 12th and 13th centuries was
influenced by the writings of the Islamic theologian, Al-Ghazali, who encouraged the study of
anatomy and use of dissections as a method of gaining knowledge of God's creation.[41]In al-
Bukhari's and Muslim's collection of sahih hadith it is said: "There is no disease that God has
created, except that He also has created its treatment." (Bukhari 7-71:582). This culminated in
the work of Ibn al-Nafis (1213–1288), who discovered the pulmonary circulation in 1242 and
used his discovery as evidence for the orthodox Islamic doctrine of bodily resurrection.[42] Ibn al-
Nafis also used Islamic scripture as justification for his rejection of wine as self-
medication.[43] Criticisms against alchemy and astrology were also motivated by religion, as
orthodox Islamic theologians viewed the beliefs of alchemists and astrologers as being
superstitious.[44]
Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (1149–1209), in dealing with his conception of physics and the physical
world in his Matalib, discusses Islamic cosmology, criticizes the Aristotelian notion of the Earth's
centrality within the universe, and "explores the notion of the existence of a multiverse in the
context of his commentary," based on the Quranic verse, "All praise belongs to God, Lord of the
Worlds." He raises the question of whether the term "worlds" in this verse refers to "multiple
worlds within this single universe or cosmos, or to many other universes or a multiverse beyond
this known universe." On the basis of this verse, he argues that God has created more than "a
thousand thousand worlds (alfa alfi 'awalim) beyond this world such that each one of those
worlds be bigger and more massive than this world as well as having the like of what this world
has."[45] Ali Kuşçu's (1403–1474) support for the Earth's rotation and his rejection of Aristotelian
cosmology (which advocates a stationary Earth) was motivated by religious opposition
to Aristotle by orthodox Islamic theologians, such as Al-Ghazali.[46][47]
According to many historians, science in the Muslim civilization flourished during the Middle
Ages, but began declining at some time around the 14th[48] to 16th[37] centuries. At least some
scholars blame this on the "rise of a clerical faction which froze this same science and withered
its progress."[49] Examples of conflicts with prevailing interpretations of Islam and science – or at
least the fruits of science – thereafter include the demolition of Taqi al-Din's
great Constantinople observatory in Galata, "comparable in its technical equipment and its
specialist personnel with that of his celebrated contemporary, the Danish astronomer Tycho
Brahe." But while Brahe's observatory "opened the way to a vast new development of
astronomical science," Taqi al-Din's was demolished by a squad of Janissaries, "by order of the
sultan, on the recommendation of the Chief Mufti," sometime after 1577 CE.[49][50]
Science and religious practice[edit]
Scientific methods have been historically applied to find solutions to the technical exigencies of
Islamic religious rituals, which is a characteristic of Islam that sets it apart from other religions.
These ritual considerations include a lunar calendar, definition of prayer times based on the
position of the sun, and a direction of prayer set at a specific location. Scientific methods have
also been applied to Islamic laws governing the distribution of inheritances and to Islamic
decorative arts. Some of these problems were tackled by both medieval scientists of the Islamic
world and scholars of Islamic law. Though these two groups generally used different methods,
there is little evidence of serious controversy between them on these subjects, with the exception
of the criticism leveled by religious scholars at the methods of astronomy due to its association
with astrology.[51]

Arrival of modern science in the Muslim world[edit]

This article contains too many or overly lengthy quotations for
an encyclopedic entry. Please help improve the article by
presenting facts as a neutrally-worded summary with appropriate
citations. Consider transferring direct quotations to Wikiquote.(March
2008)

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, modern science arrived in the Muslim world but it was
not the science itself that affected Muslim scholars. Rather, it "was the transfer of various
philosophical currents entangled with science that had a profound effect on the minds of Muslim
scientists and intellectuals. Schools like Positivism and Darwinism penetrated the Muslim world
and dominated its academic circles and had a noticeable impact on some Islamic theological
doctrines." There were different responses to this among the Muslim scholars:[52] These
reactions, in words of Professor Mehdi Golshani, were the following:

1. Some rejected modern science as corrupt foreign thought, considering it incompatible

with Islamic teachings, and in their view, the only remedy for the stagnancy of Islamic
societies would be the strict following of Islamic teachings.[52]
 2. Other thinkers in the Muslim world saw science as the only source of real enlightenment
and advocated the complete adoption of modern science. In their view, the only remedy
for the stagnation of Muslim societies would be the mastery of modern science and the
replacement of the religious worldview by the scientific worldview.
3. The majority of faithful Muslim scientists tried to adapt Islam to the findings of modern
science; they can be categorized in the following subgroups: (a) Some Muslim thinkers
attempted to justify modern science on religious grounds. Their motivation was to
encourage Muslim societies to acquire modern knowledge and to safeguard their
societies from the criticism of Orientalists and Muslim intellectuals. (b) Others tried to
show that all important scientific discoveries had been predicted in the Quran and
Islamic tradition and appealed to modern science to explain various aspects of faith. (c)
Yet other scholars advocated a re-interpretation of Islam. In their view, one must try to
construct a new theology that can establish a viable relation between Islam and modern
science. The Indian scholar, Sayyid Ahmad Khan, sought a theology of nature through
which one could re-interpret the basic principles of Islam in the light of modern science.
(d) Then there were some Muslim scholars who believed that empirical science had
reached the same conclusions that prophets had been advocating several thousand
years ago. The revelation had only the privilege of prophecy.
4. Finally, some Muslim philosophers separated the findings of modern science from its
philosophical attachments. Thus, while they praised the attempts of Western scientists
for the discovery of the secrets of nature, they warned against various empiricist and
materialistic interpretations of scientific findings. Scientific knowledge can reveal certain
aspects of the physical world, but it should not be identified with the alpha and omega of
knowledge. Rather, it has to be integrated into a metaphysical framework—consistent
with the Muslim worldview—in which higher levels of knowledge are recognized and the
role of science in bringing us closer to God is fulfilled.[18]
During the twentieth century, the Islamic world was introduced to modern science. This was able
to occur due to the expansion of educational systems, for example, 1900 in Istanbul and 1925
Cairo opened universities. Unlike some of the discords between science and Islam in the past,
the concerns for some of the modern students were different. This discord for Islam was
naturalism and social Darwinism, which challenged some beliefs. On the other hand, there was a
new light into thinking of the harmony between science and Islam. An example is the study of
Kudsî of Baku, looking at astronomy with religious implications, this occurred in the mid-
nineteenth century. This allowed him to connect he discovers from what he knew from the
Qur’an. These included “the creation of the universe and the beginning of like; in the second part,
with doomsday and the end of the world; and the third was the resurrection after death”[53] here is
a passage in the Qur’an that is made by God about modern science, that they should be
congruent with the truth attained by modern science, “hence they should be both in agreement
and concordant with the findings of modern science”.[54] This passage however, was used more
often during the time where ‘modern science’ was full of different discoveries. However, many
scientist thinkers through the Islamic word still take this passage to heart when it come to their
work. However, many scientist thinkers through the Islamic word still take this passage to heart
when it come to their work. However, there are also some strong believers that with modern
viewpoints such as social Darwinism challenged all medieval world views, including that of Islam.
Some didn't even want to be affiliated with modern science, and thought it was just an outside
look into Islam.[54] Many followers who tend to see the problems with the integration of Islam and
science, there are many that still stand by the view points of Ibn Hanbal (855). That the meaning
of science is also knowledge, that of many different aspects. There is a sense of wonder, an
open mind that allows for people to have both religious values and scientific thought. Along with
positive outlooks on modern science is the Islamic world, there are many negative ones as well.
It has become the idea for some that the practice of modern science, is that of studying Western
science. A large issue that concerns those who don't believe in the study of Western science, is
where the knowledge originated. For Muslims the knowledge comes from God, not from human
definition of forms of knowledge. An example of this in the Islamic world is that of modern
physics. modern physics is considered to be Western instead of an international study.Islam
values claim "knowledge of reality based not on reason alone, but also on revelation and
inspiration".[55] The ideals of modern science contradict these views and many criticisms of
modern science come from the value systems that some modern scientists up hold.

Decline[edit]
In the early twentieth century, Shia ulema forbade the learning of foreign languages and
dissection of human bodies in the medical school in Iran.[56]
In recent years, the lagging of the Muslim world in science is manifest in the disproportionately
small amount of scientific output as measured by citations of articles published in internationally
circulating science journals, annual expenditures on research and development, and numbers of
research scientists and engineers.[57] Concern has been raised that the contemporary Muslim
world suffers from scientific illiteracy.[7] Skepticism of science among some Muslims is reflected in
issues such as resistance in Muslim northern Nigeria to polio inoculation, which some believe is
"an imaginary thing created in the West or it is a ploy to get us to submit to this evil
agenda."[58] Also, in Pakistan, a small number of post-graduate physics students have been
known to blame earthquakes on "sinfulness, moral laxity, deviation from the Islamic true path,"
while "only a couple of muffled voices supported the scientific view that earthquakes are a
natural phenomenon unaffected by human activity."[7]
Muslim scientists and scholars have subsequently developed a spectrum of viewpoints on the
place of scientific learning within the context of Islam.[1]
The conflicts between these two ideas can become quite complicated. It has been argued[by
whom?]
that "Muslims must be able to maintain the traditional Islamic intellectual space for the
legitimate continuation of the Islamic view of the nature of reality to which Islamic ethics
corresponds, without denying the legitimacy of modern science within their own confines".[55] With
the large conflicting ideas coming into the light, that helped to continue the decline of Islam and
science. While science in the modern Islamic world, is quite popular there are still many Western
values that are associated with it. Engineering is one of the most popular career choices of
Middle Eastern students. With this huge popularity with engineering, which could be argued as
one science that would work in conjunction to religion, the Natural sciences have not been fully
institutionalized in predominately Islamic countries.[59]

Muslim Nobel laureates[edit]

As of 2018, three Muslim scientists have won a Nobel Prize for science (Abdus Salam from
Pakistan in physics, Ahmed Zewail from Egypt and Aziz Sancar from Turkey in Chemistry).
According to Mustafa Akyol, the relative lack of Muslim Nobel laureates in sciences per capita
can be attributed to more insular interpretations of the religion than in the golden age of Islamic
discovery and development, when society was more open to foreign ideas.[60]
Abdus Salam, who won a Nobel Prize in Physics for his electroweak theory, is among those who
argue that the quest for reflecting upon and studying nature is a duty upon Muslims.[61]

Biological evolution[edit]
Main article: Islamic views on evolution
A faction of Muslims are at odds with current scientific theories about biological evolution and the
origin of man. A recent Pew study[62] reveals that in only four of the 22 countries surveyed that at
least 50% of the people surveyed rejected evolution. For instance, a relatively large fraction of
people accept human evolution in Kazakhstan (79%) and Lebanon (78%), but relatively few in
Afghanistan (26%), Iraq (27%), and Pakistan (30%); a total of 13 of the countries surveyed had
at least 50% of the population surveyed who agreed with the statement that humans evolved
over time. The late Ottoman intellectual Ismail Fennî, while personally rejecting Darwinism,
insisted that it should be taught in schools as even false theories contributed to the improvement
of science. He held that interpretations of the Quran might require amendment should Darwinism
eventually be shown to be true.[63]
See also[edit]
 Quran and miracles
 Relationship between religion and science
 Religious interpretations of the Big Bang theory
 Ahmadiyya views on evolution
 Christianity and science
 Buddhism and science
 Bahá'í Faith and science
 Ibn Sina Academy of Medieval Medicine and Sciences

References[edit]
1. ^ Jump up to:a b Seyyed Hossein Nasr. "Islam and Modern Science"
2. ^ The 'first true scientist'
3. ^ Haq, Syed (2009). "Science in Islam". Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages. ISSN 1703-7603.
Retrieved 2014-10-22.
4. ^ Robert Briffault (1928). The Making of Humanity, pp. 190–202. G. Allen & Unwin Ltd.
5. ^ Jump up to:a b c Huff, Toby (2007). Islam and Science. Armonk, Ny: M.E. Sharpe, Inc. pp. 26–
36. ISBN 978-0-7656-8064-8.
6. ^ Egyptian Muslim geologist Zaghloul El-Naggar quoted in Science and Islam in Conflict| Discover
magazine| 06.21.2007| quote: "Modern Europe's industrial culture did not originate in Europe but
in the Islamic universities of Andalusia and of the East. The principle of the experimental method
was an offshoot of the Islamic concept and its explanation of the physical world, its phenomena,
its forces and its secrets." From: Qutb, Sayyad, Milestones, p.
111, https://archive.org/stream/SayyidQutb/Milestones%20Special%20Edition_djvu.txt
7. ^ Jump up to:a b c Hoodbhoy, Perez (2006). "Islam and Science – Unhappy
Bedfellows" (PDF). Global Agenda: 2–3. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
8. ^ Cook, Michael, The Koran: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, (2000), p. 30
9. ^ see also: Ruthven, Malise. A Fury For God. London; New York: Granta (2002), p. 126.
10. ^ Pitock, Todd (July 2007). "Science and Islam in Conflict". Discover Magazine. Retrieved 15
June 2019.
11. ^ "What is science?", ScienceCouncil.Org
12. ^ Jump up to:a b c https://giftsofknowledge.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/hans-wehr-searchable-
pdf.pdf Searcheable PDF of the Hans Wehr Dictionary
13. ^ Qur'an and Science, Encyclopedia of the Qur'an
14. ^ Jump up to:a b Ali, Shamsher. "Science and the Qur'an" (PDF). In Oliver Leaman (ed.). The
Qurʼan: An Encyclopedia. p. 572. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
15. ^ Nidhal Guessoum (2010-10-30). Islam's Quantum Question: Reconciling Muslim Tradition and
Modern Science. I.B.Tauris. p. 63. ISBN 978-1848855175.
16. ^ Nidhal Guessoum (2010-10-30). Islam's Quantum Question: Reconciling Muslim Tradition and
Modern Science. I.B.Tauris. p. 75. ISBN 978-1848855175.
17. ^ Nidhal Guessoum (2010-10-30). Islam's Quantum Question: Reconciling Muslim Tradition and
Modern Science. I.B.Tauris. pp. 132, 134. ISBN 978-1848855175.
18. ^ Jump up to:a b Mehdi Golshani, Can Science Dispense With Religion?
19. ^ Toshihiko Izutsu (1964). God and Man in the Koran. Weltansckauung. Tokyo.
20. ^ A. I. Sabra, Situating Arabic Science: Locality versus Essence.
21. ^ Nidhal Guessoum (2010-10-30). Islam's Quantum Question: Reconciling Muslim Tradition and
Modern Science. I.B.Tauris. p. 174. ISBN 978-1848855175.
22. ^ Jump up to:a b Nidhal Guessoum (2010-10-30). Islam's Quantum Question: Reconciling Muslim
Tradition and Modern Science. I.B.Tauris. p. 56. ISBN 978-1848855175.
23. ^ Nidhal Guessoum (2010-10-30). Islam's Quantum Question: Reconciling Muslim Tradition and
Modern Science. I.B.Tauris. pp. 117–18. ISBN 978-1848855175.
24. ^ Nidhal Guessoum (2010-10-30). Islam's Quantum Question: Reconciling Muslim Tradition and
Modern Science. I.B.Tauris. pp. 58–59. ISBN 978-1848855175.
25. ^ Jump up to:a b Qutb, Sayyid, Milestones, p. 112
26. ^ Stark, Rodney, The Victory of Reason, Random House: 2005, pp. 20–21.
27. ^ Edis, Taner (2007). An Illusion of Harmony: Science And Religion in Islam: Taner Edis:
9781591024491: Amazon.com: Books. ISBN 978-1591024491.
28. ^ Jump up to:a b c "Reasonable Doubts Podcast". CastRoller. 2014-07-11. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
29. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f SARDAR, ZIAUDDIN (21 August 2008). "Weird science". New Statesman.
Retrieved 11 April 2019.
30. ^ Cook, The Koran, 2000: p.29
31. ^ La'li, Mahdi (2007). A Comprehensive Exploration of the Scientific Miracles in Holy Quran.
Trafford Publishing. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-4120-1443-4. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
32. ^ Jump up to:a b Ansari, Zafar Ishaq (2001). "Scientific Exegesis of the Qur'an / ‫التفسير العلمي‬
.91082752 ROTSJ .29 :)1( 3 .seidutS cina'ruQ fo lanruoJ ."‫للقرآن‬
33. ^ "BLACK HOLES". miracles of the quran. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
34. ^ Angelika Neuwirth, Cosmology, Encyclopedia of the Qur'an
35. ^ TALIB, ALI (9 April 2018). "Deconstructing the "Scientific Miracles in the Quran"
Argument". Transversing Tradition. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
36. ^ Guessoum, Nidhal (June 2008). "ThE QUR'AN, SCIENCE, AND THE
(RELATED)CONTEMPORARY MUSLIM DISCOURSE". Zygon. 43 (2): 413. ISSN 0591-2385.
Retrieved 15 April 2019.
37. ^ Jump up to:a b Ahmad Y Hassan, Factors Behind the Decline of Islamic Science After the
Sixteenth Century
38. ^ Gandz, Solomon (1938), "The Algebra of Inheritance: A Rehabilitation of Al-
Khuwārizmī", Osiris, 5: 319–91, doi:10.1086/368492, ISSN 0369-7827.
39. ^ Gingerich, Owen (April 1986), "Islamic astronomy", Scientific American, 254 (10):
74, Bibcode:1986SciAm.254d..74G, doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0486-74, archived from the
original on 2011-01-01, retrieved 2008-05-18
40. ^ Eisen, Laderman; Huff, Toby. Science, Religion and Society, an Encyclopedia of History,
Culture, and Controversy: Islam and Science. Armonk, New York: M.E. Sharpe Inc.
41. ^ Savage-Smith, Emilie (1995), "Attitudes Toward Dissection in Medieval Islam", Journal of the
History of Medicine and Allied Sciences, Oxford University Press, 50 (1): 67–
110, doi:10.1093/jhmas/50.1.67, PMID 7876530
42. ^ Fancy, Nahyan A. G. (2006), "Pulmonary Transit and Bodily Resurrection: The Interaction of
Medicine, Philosophy and Religion in the Works of Ibn al-Nafīs (d. 1288)", Electronic Theses and
Dissertations, University of Notre Dame: 232–33
43. ^ Fancy, Nahyan A. G. (2006), "Pulmonary Transit and Bodily Resurrection: The Interaction of
Medicine, Philosophy and Religion in the Works of Ibn al-Nafīs (d. 1288)", Electronic Theses and
Dissertations, University of Notre Dame: 49–59, 232–33
44. ^ Saliba, George (1994), A History of Arabic Astronomy: Planetary Theories During the Golden
Age of Islam, New York University Press, pp. 60, 67–69, ISBN 978-0-8147-8023-7
45. ^ Adi Setia (2004), "Fakhr Al-Din Al-Razi on Physics and the Nature of the Physical World: A
Preliminary Survey", Islam & Science, 2, archived from the original on 2012-07-10, retrieved 2010-
03-02
46. ^ Ragep, F. Jamil (2001a), "Tusi and Copernicus: The Earth's Motion in Context", Science in
Context, Cambridge University Press, 14 (1–2): 145–63, doi:10.1017/s0269889701000060
47. ^ F. Jamil Ragep (2001), "Freeing Astronomy from Philosophy: An Aspect of Islamic Influence on
Science", Osiris, 2nd Series, vol. 16, Science in Theistic Contexts: Cognitive Dimensions, pp. 49–
64, 66–71.
48. ^ Islam by Alnoor Dhanani in Science and Religion, 2002, p. 88.
49. ^ Jump up to:a b Islamic Technology: An Illustrated History by Ahmad Y. al-Hassan and Donald
Hill, Cambridge University Press, 1986, p. 282.
50. ^ Aydin Sayili, The Observatory in Islam and its place in the General History of the Observatory
(Ankara: 1960), pp. 289 ff..
51. ^ David A. King (2003). "Mathematics applied to aspects of religious ritual in Islam". In I. Grattan-
Guinness (ed.). Companion Encyclopedia of the History and Philosophy of the Mathematical
Sciences. 1. JHU Press. p. 80. ISBN 9780801873966.
52. ^ Jump up to:a b Mehdi Golshani, Does science offer evidence of a transcendent reality and
purpose?, June 2003
53. ^ Brooke, John; İhsanoğlu, Ekmeleddin (2011). Science and Religion Around the World: Modern
Islam. Oxford University press.
 54. ^ Jump up to:a b Brooke, John; İhsanoğlu, Ekmeleddin (2011). Science and Religion Around the
World: Modern Islam. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. p. 168. ISBN 978-0-19-532-
820-2.
55. ^ Jump up to:a b Clayton, Philip; Nasr, Seyyed (2006). The Oxford Handbook of Religion and
Science: Islam and Science. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press.
56. ^ Mackey, The Iranians : Persia, Islam and the Soul of a Nation, 1996, p. 179.
57. ^ Abdus Salam, Ideals and Realities: Selected Essays of Abdus Salam (Philadelphia: World
Scientific, 1987), p. 109.
58. ^ Nafiu Baba Ahmed, Secretary General of the Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria, telling
the BBC his opinion of polio and vaccination. In northern Nigeria "more than 50% of the children
have never been vaccinated against polio," and as of 2006 and more than half the world's polio
victims live. Nigeria's struggle to beat polio, BBC News, 31 March 20
59. ^ Huff, Toby (2007). Science, Religion, and Society: Islam and Science. Armonk, New York: M.E.
Sharpe.
60. ^ "Why Muslims have only few Nobel Prizes". Hurriyet. 14 August 2013. Retrieved 21
October 2014.
61. ^ "Islam and science – concordance or conflict?". The Review of Religions. Retrieved 14
October 2013.
62. ^ The World’s Muslims: Religion, Politics and Society, Pew Research Center, April 30, 2013[1]
63. ^ "The British Journal for the History of Science V48:4". Cambridge University Press.

External links[edit]
Wikiquote has
quotations related
to: Qur'an on science

 Islam & Science

 Science and the Islamic world—The quest for rapprochement by Pervez Hoodbhoy.
 Islamic Science by Ziauddin Sardar (2002).
 Can Science Dispense With Religion? by Mehdi Golshani.
 Islam, science and Muslims by Seyyed Hossein Nasr.
 Islam, Muslims, and modern technology by Seyyed Hossein Nasr.
 Center for Islam and Science
 Explore Islamic achievements and contributions to science
 Is There Such A Thing As Islamic Science? The Influence Of Islam On The World Of
Science
 How Islam Won, and Lost, the Lead in Science
 Radicalism among Muslim professionals worries many