Islamic science (original) (raw)
Islamic science is science in the context of Islam, its ethics and prohibitions. This is not the same as science as conducted by any Muslim in a secular context.
The scientific method in its modern form arguably developed in early Muslim philosophy, in particular, citation ("isnad"), peer review and open inquiry leading to development of consensus ("ijma" via "ijtihad"), and a general belief that knowledge reveals nature honestly. During the middle ages, the advances in mathematics, medicine, astronomy, engineering, and many other fields were evidence that Islamic civilization had mastered science and technology. During this time Islamic philosophy developed and was often pivotal in scientific debates - key figures were usually scientists and philosophers.
With the fall of Muslim Spain in 1492, scientific and technological initiative generally passed to Christian Europe and led to what we now call the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. The fiqh of Islamic Law froze more or less along classical/medieval lines, and no longer encouraged science.
Modern Islamic philosophy has, in response to challenges of secular science and concerns that secular society is unwilling or unable to limit its uses of dangerous technology, especially nuclear weapon or biotechnology, begun to look at the origins of science to detemine what ethics or limits can or should be imposed, and what goals or visions are appropriate for science. Key figures in these debates are:
- Ismail al-Faruqi who proposed an Islamization of knowledge
- Seyyed Hossein Nasr who focuses on interpretations of "khalifa"
- Muhammad Nijatullah Siddiqui who focuses more specifically on Islamic economics
F. Rosenthal, Knowledge Triumphant, explored the central importance of knowledge in Muslim civilization and explains how it generated "science". It is more a work of history. Also of some note in these debates have been
- Nasim Butt, Science and Muslim Societies, an introduction
- Ahmad Y. al-Hassan and Donald R. Hill, Islamic Technology: An Illustrated History