Asian Research Thesis Index

Abstract

Knowledge is power', said Francis Bacon. And yet Muslims, by and large, hold the general notion that
empirical science is secular, and therefore below Islam.
This thesis seeks to fundamentally negate the constructed disconnect between empirical science and the
Quran. Rather, this study, through employing historical evidence, establishes that it was the pre-Qur'anic
era in which man tumbled over and fumbled around in search of knowledge and only succeeded in getting
together the basic tools. Moreover, it was only after the advent of the Quran that the pursuit of knowledge
became a legitimate and highly desired activity. Indeed Qur'anic revelations encouraged and ushered in
an age of empirical and reason-based knowledge.
The Qur'anic knowledge constitutes two streams: the transcendental (spiritual) and temporal (secular),
which complement each other in a wholesome and holistic manner. In fact, the Ayat of the Divine Book
(the Qur'an) and the Created Book (the Cosmos) complement each other for wholesome and holistic
knowledge. The sense-perception-reason approach to secular knowledge had inspired Muslims in the
earlier pristine era of Islam to achieve the zenith of scientific knowledge.
The study highlights that the period from the 2nd through the 7th centuries hijrah (8th — 13th centuries
AD) constitutes the Golden Age of the Muslim era, the time when science flourished in all fields of
knowledge. It was, in fact, the Muslim science which when transmitted to Europe, then miring in Dark
Age, triggered there the Age of Enlightenment and Reason (the scientific revolution).
Thus, the findings of the research study demonstrate that Islam is perfectly compatible with science and
delinking the two, Islam and science, is the cause of Muslim decadence. The Qur'an emphasizes reason
 and reflection. The Qur'anic text refers to the natural physical phenomena for a reflection and its
teachings are, in fact, rooted in agriculture — a vital biological science.
The study establishes that the current dilemma faced by Muslims is due to abandoning reason and instead
following the path of ritualistic Islam. They relegated the temporal and secular sciences, while on the
other hand the West made progress by leaps and bounds. Thus, the hypothesis proposed is upheld.

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