Reformulating a comprehensive relationship between religion and science: an Islamic perspective

Islam & Science, June, 2003 by Osman Bakar

Formulation of the relationship between Islam and science has been confused because of misuse and misunderstanding of key terms and their precise context. Which Islam? Which science? If we are aiming at a science molded in the crucible of Islam, we need to approach science as a theoretical construct with four components: a body of knowledge, basic premises, methods of study and goals, all of which must be fully informed by the domain of iman and understood at the level of ihsan. This paper establishes a philosophical framework for the harmonious relationship between epistemological dimensions of science and the Islamic worldview as well as between ethical and societal dimensions of science and Shari'ah.

Keywords: Islam; science; context; normative teachings; theoretical structure; hierarchy of values; conceptual goals; epistemological; ethical; practical application; holistic; Shari'ah.

Introduction

This paper has been written in response to a specific question which has two facets: What is the best way to formulate the relationship between Islam and science? How does this methodology constrain/explore the discourse from an Islamic perspective? In attempting to provide a clear and fairly comprehensive response to these questions, we have to first take note of the glaring fact that contemporary discourse on the subject of Islam and science is clouded with all kinds of confusion. This abundant confusion stems largely from the failure of many participants in the discourse to provide proper definitions of key terms central to the discussion. Clearly, here both terms 'Islam' and 'science' are central to the whole discourse, and thus they need to be well-defined and explained.

Then there is the failure to clearly state the precise context in which the terms are being used in the discussion. Given the multiple senses in which the terms might be understood, these two failures can have undesirable consequences on the outcome of the discourse. We often find cases of gross misunderstanding because of misunderstanding the context in which these terms are used. These sources of misunderstanding need to be addressed, more so when we are confronted with a situation in which a significant portion of contemporary works on Islam and science are polemical in nature and tend to perpetuate misunderstanding. (1)

Islam and Science: Which Islam?

Whatever kinds of relationships between Islam and science are to emerge prominently in our discussion will depend on the meanings given to the terms 'Islam' and 'science' or which of their respective dimensions are emphasized. Which Islam or which part of Islam is it that is being related to science? Indeed, the term Islam may be understood in several senses. It has been used by certain people to refer to the normative teachings of the religion as contained in the Qur'an and prophetic tradition. There are Muslims who, when speaking about the relationship between Islam and science, do not even want to consider the hadith literature as a source of their understanding of the former. (2) Arguing that the Qur'an is divine whereas ahadith are of purely human origin and thus possibly questionable in their authenticity, this group of Muslims depends solely on their own interpretations of the Qur'an for their formulation of the relationship of Islam and science. They want to understand Islam, including its perspectives on science, by going directly to the first source, the Qur'an, and not through the intermediary of the historical manifestations of the religion in the form of its spiritual traditions, intellectual culture, and civilization. Such an attitude toward Islam's intellectual past is also to be found among the believers in ahadith.

Then there are those who use the word Islam not only to refer to its normative teachings that allow for fresh interpretations, but also to its culture and civilization as these dimensions have been manifested throughout Muslim history. If Islam is understood in this sense, then it has to be inclusive of its past intellectual culture, of which science used to be an integral part. A discussion of Islam and science based on this broader meaning of Islam would necessarily differ in scope, content, and depth from the one that ignores the traditional theories and practices of science in Islamic civilization and their conceptual relationships with religion. It is a position that is informed by a solid knowledge of the history of Islam the religion and Islam the civilization. This civilizational approach to the Islam and science discourse which is sensitive to tradition is based on the conviction that past formulations of the relationship between religion and science have an intrinsic value that make them relevant to contemporary attempts to arrive at the same conceptual goal. (3) Some have disputed the value of this approach to our contemporary needs. But whichever decision we make on the relevance of tradition to contemporary discourse should only be based on a careful and objective study of past formulations, at least those associated with important scholars of Islamic intellectual history.