See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/354104339

WHEN THE MUSLIMS TURN THEIR BACK ON SCIENCE

Article · August 2021

CITATIONS READS
0 120

1 author:

Khalid Khan
University of Massachusetts Lowell
1 PUBLICATION 0 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Khalid Khan on 24 August 2021.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 WHEN THE MUSLIMS
TURN THEIR BACK ON SCIENCE
By Khalid Khan
In the history of Nobel prize, till 2020, in
total, 631 people have won the Nobel prize for
science (Physics, Chemistry and Medicine), out of
which only two had gone to Muslims. According to
the 2016 United Nations Arab Human Development
Report, the MENA (the Middle East and North
Africa) region is home to only 5% of the world's
population. Still, it produces 69% of the world's
battle-related deaths, 58% of the world's refugees
and 45% of the world's terrorist attacks (UNDP,
2016). Due to the lack of education, ideology drives
the decision making in Muslims and not evidence.
It is no wonder, the proliferation of fake news and
conspiracy theories abound in the Muslims; this
gives rise in a victim mentality in which we hold
someone else responsible for our bad condition.
The question here is why the contribution from the
Islamic World in creating new knowledge or their
participation in global scientific endeavors is
negligible. To be more specific, by Islamic World, I
mean those over 50 countries of the Organization
of the Islamic Conferences (OIC).
Though today, Islam is not known for
contributing to modern scientific projects, but
history has witnessed that the Islamic world stood
at the forefront of scientific advancement from 8th
century till 11th century, after which it started going
downhill. This period is called the Islamic Golden
Age. Historian Bernard Lewis (2002) notes, for
many centuries, the world of Islam was in the
forefront of human civilization and achievement.
Lack of scientific temperament in Muslims
should be a concern not only for Muslims but for
everyone. I recollect listening to a presentation by
a western cosmologist, who said, out of all the
named stars, two-thirds of them have Arabic names.
Later he mentioned, imagine how much progress
we would have made and how many new stars we
would have found, had the Arabs continued with
their research in the space.
Singer (1979) observes in his book, A
History of Technology, that "the Near East was
superior to the West. For nearly all branches of
technology, the best products available to the West
were those of the Near East. Technologically, the
West had little to bring to the East" (As cited in Al-
Hassan, n. d., para. 3).
Why did the Islamic Golden Age end?
Sadly, I did not find even a handful of independent,
evidence-based study by the Muslim scholars on
this. To my wonder, I found several books, scholarly
research papers, articles and essays on the fall of
Islamic science by Western authors. Do we people
in the Muslim world understand and accept what
brought the end to Islamic science? Understanding
and accepting this is vital for Muslim's revival to
bring back the culture of scientific inquiry.
First, let us look at the factors that laid the
foundation for the Golden Age. Right from the
beginning of Islam, the Caliphs and the scholars
appreciated the value of knowledge with openness
no matter from where it came. Abbasid Caliph Al-
Mansur commenced translation movement in 770
for the Arabic translation of many science and
philosophy books written in Greek, Syriac, Persian
and Sanskrit. Bait al-Hikmah (House of Wisdom)
was founded by Caliph Harun al-Rashid,as a library
for the collections of translated books and works.
Caliph Al-Mamun further institutionalized it. They
leveraged the expertise received from the Greeks,
Persians, Romans, Zoroastrians, Indians, Buddhist
and Chinese. Muslim scientists of that age were
well-versed with the Qur'an, and they drew
inspiration from the verses of the Qur'an. It amazes
me to see the versatility of the knowledge and
expertise of the Muslim scholars of that period.
Take note of the vastness of the knowledge of just
a few scholars such as Al-Razi, Al-Kindi, Al-Biruni,
Ibn Sina, Al-Haytham. You will find each one of
them to be a polymath. Their expertise varied from
Islamic jurisprudence, theology, philosophy to
mathematics, medicine and natural sciences.
Science found favor in medieval Islam
because, for them, science was another way to
experience the creation and know the creator. We
are discussing science now, but it is important to
note that the word 'science' was not even coined
until the nineteenth century. The closest word in
Arabic was 'ilm', that means knowledge. Ilm or its
derivatives are used in 704 verses of the Qur'an.
There are about 750 verses in the Quran dealing
with natural phenomena. Many verses of the
Qur'an asks mankind to study nature, and this has
been interpreted to mean encouragement for
scientific inquiry and investigation of the truth. Here
I quote a couple of verses from Qur'an:
"Travel throughout the earth and see how He brings
life into being." (Qur'an 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" (Qur'an
3:190).
The above verses tell us a few essential things.
First, it is telling us to make an effort and go out and
discern how God brings life into being, the creation
of heaven and earth, alternation of night and day
etc. And the second is, you have to find the way
nature works, outside of Qur'an. You have to do this
independently; the answer is not in the Qur'an; you
have to find it out yourself.
Another aspect to understand is that
cause-and-effect is a natural phenomenon
employed by the creator. You can't get the result
without making an effort. The Muslim scholars of
that age understood this. A famous verse of the
Quran which means, "Indeed God will not change
the conditions of a population until they change
what is in themselves." (13:11)
There is also one of the reported sayings of
the prophet Mohammad (PBUH), according to
Tirmidhi:
"One day Mohammad (PBUH) noticed a
Bedouin leaving his camel without tying it.
Mohammad asked the Bedouin, "Why don't
you tie down your camel?" The Bedouin
answered, "I placed my trust in Allah." At
that, Mohammad (PBUH) said, "Tie your
camel and place your trust in Allah."
Independent inquiry, Scientific observation,
empirical knowledge, rationality etc. are the primary
means, these fit well with the 'tying of the camel'
analogy from the above Hadith, to make progress
in science. And those laid the foundation of the
Islamic Golden age. There is an order to approach
science. It requires one to be open-minded and be
ready to change their world view as and when one
acquires newer knowledge. And for those who are
uncomfortable because there could ever be a
contradiction in science and religion, Sir Syed
Ahmed Khan's response to that was the most
appropriate. He said 'Word of God (scriptures)
cannot be in opposition to the Work of God (nature)
(Imteyaz, 2008). If a contradiction between religion
and science exists in mind, then either you don't
understand science, or you don't understand the
religion (Parray, 2015). Sir Syed's famous quote is
that ‘’a true Muslims is one who must have the holy
Quran in one hand and the science in the other’’
(Azhar, 2012). As we see his Aligarh Muslim
University offering different courses like Medical,
Engineering, Philosophy, Science, Arts,
Management, Languages, Islamic Studies, etc.
Al-Ghazali too in his book "The
Confessions of Al-Ghazali" cautions Muslims from
rejecting scientific truths. He says that ignorant
Muslims think that the best way to defend religion
is by rejecting all the exact sciences. accusing their
professors as gone astray. The learned know that
these theories rest on infallible proofs.
According to the Nobel Prize winner in
Physics, Abdus Salam, one-eighth of the Qur’an is
a call for Muslims to seek Allah’s signs in the
universe and hence that science is a spiritual as
well as a worldly duty for Muslims (Hoodbhoy,
2007). Science also demands one to have the
humility to say, "I don't know", if something is not
known, rather than believing upon superstitions
and conjectures.
A detailed view of the contributions of the
scientists from Middle Ages is beyond the subject
of this discussion. It is widely known, and there is a
plethora of books on this even by authors in the
West. I don't even want to take pride in the glorious
past. The Muslims have enough of self-pride, they
don't need any more of it. What we need is self-
criticism, but it is often the case that the criticism in
the Muslim world is directed at the West or
somebody outward. This prejudice is one of the
Muslim's most significant obstacles in bringing
reawakening in the Muslim World. The only time the
criticism is internal when it is for the Muslims for
being less religious as if just by being a pious
Muslim will solve all the problems.
If you ask someone in the Muslim world
about the reasons for the decline of the Islamic
science, most likely you will get the explanation as
the Mongol's invasion of Baghdad that toppled the
Abbasid caliphate. But the fall in the scientific
contribution has preceded Baghdad's invasion.
They miss the subject that we are not interested
here in the reason for the collapse of Abbasid
caliphate, we are looking for the reasons as to what
contributed for the closing of the Muslims minds?
Why the research stopped? Why did scholars stop
publishing books? There is a Harvard research
paper that looked into the scholarly output from the
Muslim world between the 8th and 18th century. As
per that, the number of books dedicated to scientific
topics diminished in the late 11th century onward
(Chaney, 2016). The departure of scientific inquiry
and reasoning began in the 11th century, about two
centuries before Baghdad's invasion in 1258.
Within two years of the invasion of Baghdad,
Muslim Mamluks, defeated the Mongols in the
battle of Ain Jalut north of Jerusalem. In 1261, the
Mamluk rulers of Egypt, re-established the Abbasid
caliphate in Cairo. The Abbasid caliphs in Egypt
continued to maintain the presence of authority as
a religious head. The Mongol king Gazan Khan
converted to Islam, making Islam as Mongol's state
religion in 1295. Why is it that modern science did
not rise again from Cairo, Delhi or Ottoman Empire.
Abbasid caliphate was far from smooth
sailing. Wars, rebellion, famine, anarchy,
assassinations of caliphs, Shi'a uprising, were part
and parcel of the Caliphate. For over 200 years,
Abbasids were out of power even in Baghdad,
subjugated by other dynasties between years 945
and 1157. Regardless of all these political
upheavals, the science, art and literature continued
to flourish in the Muslim world. It is to be noted that
once an environment and an attitude for scientific
inquiry is developed, then the progress in science
becomes a natural effect of that. It is erroneous to
associate the disappearance of scientific output to
an invasion of a city.
Some others in the East would associate
the reasons for the decline to, social and moral
degradation in Muslims. This again is negating the
natural phenomena which are going against the
teachings of Islam.
Then what are the reasons for the fall of
Islamic Science? Here I will list down the five major
ones that led to the fall of the Islamic golden age:
1. Rise of a New Anti-rational and Anti-
philosophical Ideology:
The surge of Asharite ideology in the 9th
century, which disdained the rationalist approach
and rejected the relationship between cause and
effect in any natural order. Here is a famous
example that was given by their proponents: when
fire and cotton are placed in contact, the cotton is
burned not because of the heat of the fire, but
through God's direct intervention. That implies, no
element in this world has any physical or chemical
property. In this case, what is there to learn in any
natural science. What is there to achieve from
experiential learning. By this belief, all sciences
need to be trashed; in fact, more or less that was
the point made by the Asharites. This view was
opposed to the rationalist view that God has
created the laws of nature and maintains them as
the disciplines of creation and existence.
2. To Counter the Emergence of Shi'a Islam:
Shi'a Ismailis were gaining power at the
beginning of the 9th century from Morocco, Algeria,
Tunisia, Libya to Egypt. They established a Fatimid
dynasty in Egypt in 969 and further expanded to
Syria and Sicily. They were seen as a significant
threat by the Sunni Abbasids.
Another Shi'a dynasty, by the name, Buyids,
overpowered Abassids and captured Baghdad in
the year 945. Buyids encompassed the territory of
most of today's Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and Syria, parts
of Oman, the UAE, Turkey, Afghanistan and
Pakistan. During the 10th and mid-11th centuries,
the Buyids were the most influential dynasty in the
Middle East. During that period Abbasids just had a
ceremonial position in Baghdad. To counter the
spread of Shi'a Islam, Abbasids encouraged Sunni
Seljuq Turks to invade Baghdad. As a result, in
1055 Seljuq Sultan Tughril defeated Buyids and
established Seljuq dynasty in Baghdad. Seljuq's
too let the Abbasids continue as so-called
Caliphate dealing just with the religious matters. To
counter the Shi'a emergence on the ideological
front as well, the Seljuk grand Vazir Nizam ul Mulk
founded Nizamiah Madarsas and spread it across
the Muslim world for Sunni religious studies. It was
the battle of ideas between Shi'as and Sunnis.
Nizam ul Mulk, the founder of Nizamiyah Guild, was
assassinated by the Shi'a Ismailis in 1092, you can
imagine how real the threats from Shia's were.
3. Bifurcation of Knowledge in Religious
Science and Natural Sciences:
Though the Quran doesn't make any
distinction when it mentions "ilm
(knowledge)" between religious knowledge and
other sciences, the advocates of Asharites took
'Ilm' as the science of religion or the science of the
knowledge of God and His verses. For the first time
in Islamic history, religious studies became
regulated. The religious sciences - Quran, Hadith
and fiqh (jurisprudence) - were said to be the finest
field of studies by the prominent Sunni religious
scholars of that time. Study of Greek philosophy, -
which performed an essential part in cultivating free
inquiry - was entirely discouraged. Medicine and
mathematics were accepted since these solve
problems of that time, but physics and other natural
sciences were declared unnecessary.
4. Patronage of the Caliphs:
Caliph Al-Mutawakkil was not known for
having a thirst for knowledge. In the middle of 9th-
century, the Abbasid Caliphs completely shifted
their support in favour of Asharite ideology. The
opposing school, Mu’tazilizm was finished as
political power and traditionalism assumed its
ascendency over the rationalist forces” (Makdisi,
1981, p. 7). And anyone who did not submit to that
view was imprisoned, banished or executed.
People saw their great scholars such as Ibn Sina,
Al-Farabi disrespected, Ibn Rushd disgraced and
exiled, his writings were banned and his books
burned. The Muslims got the directions of where to
go from there.
5. Religious Study Appeared More Lucrative
Than Pursuing Science:
With the spread of Nizamiyah madrasah
and shifting of Caliphs and sultan's patronage
towards anti-rational ideology, people found
religious studies more lucrative and honorable.
When ilm (knowledge) got its narrow interpretation
to mean only religious science, the alims
or scholars of religious science automatically
occupied the most exalted position in the Muslim
sociopolitical landscape. Graduates from
Nizamiyah were given priority in key government
jobs, namely in the judiciary, in jurisprudence and
other administrative positions. Nizamiyah
madrasas focused on religious studies at the
expense of independent inquiry.
The mainstream Muslim's inquiring minds
were attacked and occupied a couple of centuries
before the occupation of the city of Baghdad by
Mongols.
The fall in Arabic science was met by the
rise of science in the West. Europe translated the
classical and scientific works from Arabic to Latin.
By the early 13th century, Europe had formally
incorporated Arabic science into the curricula of
their universities. The scholarly work of Ibn Rushd
(Latinized: Averroes) and Ibn Sina (Latinized:
Avicenna), were taught in European universities for
centuries. The anti-rational and anti-philosophical
ideology placed the Muslims at a position from
where it completely missed noticing the European
Renaissance, the Reformation, the scientific
revolution, and the European Enlightenment period.
That's not all; they did not even care to notice the
invention of the revolutionary printing press. By the
year 1500, there were about a thousand printing
presses in operation throughout Western Europe
and had produced 8 million books, whereas in
Ottoman Empire printing in Arabic was prohibited
by the death penalty. In 1727, the empire had its the
first legal print house for printing secular works, but
printing activities did not take off until the 19th
century, a delay of 4 centuries in the adoption of
such a revolutionary media is inexcusable. There is
no single event in Islamic History that was more
damaging than this one incident supported by the
religious scholars. Compare this with the earlier
Abbasid Caliphs who brought the papermaking
from China in the 8th century. Europeans learned
paper making from the Muslims who established
the first paper mill in Spain.
Muslims woke up from their slumber only in
1798 when Napoleon invaded Egypt with far
superior and modern war machinery, equipment
and technology. And the entire Arab and Muslim
lands were up for grabs by anyone in possession of
advanced scientific and military power. One wrong
turn in history, most likely taken due to some
political and ideological reason, did cost the
Muslims in general and Sunnis in specific,
unimaginable negative consequences, that are
even continuing till this day. When we are talking
about reinventing the scientific inquiry in the Muslim
mind, it is vital to keep a watch on what precisely
made the mainstream Muslims switch off their
inquiring mind.
Lewis (2003) notes in his book 'What Went
Wrong' that, the relationship between Christendom
and Islam in the sciences was now reversed. Those
who had been disciples now became teachers;
those who had been masters became pupils, often
reluctant and resentful pupils. But as long as we
remain reluctant, resentful, violent pupils, we can
not make any progress.
In Islam, knowledge was valued and
respected. The House of Wisdom (Bayt al-Hikma)
was an institution for education, translation and
research. It institutionalized free inquiry, where
scholars from all regions and all religions came and
shared their knowledge. Today we need many
Houses of Wisdom, to regulate free inquiry. We are
at an added advantage since we have an example
in history to follow and the Qur'an, which tells us to
go out and gain knowledge on how things work.
Science doesn't mean western science; it is also a
legacy left behind by the scientists of the Islamic
Golden age. Today we have to learn from the
leaders in the field of science and technology, be it
the USA, Japan, European countries, South Korea
or Israel. The Abbasids brought decimals and
arithmetic from India, philosophy and geometric
principals from Ancient Greek, paper making from
China, medicinal knowledge from Persia. The
methods and setup of Bayt al-Hikma itself were
emulated based on the Academy of Gundeshapur
of Persia, which fell to Muslims in the year 638. The
Bayt al-Hikma was staffed with graduates of the
Academy of Gundeshapur. We need to emulate our
universities based on the Harvards, the MITs and
the Oxfords of today.
I believe humans cannot see the future, so
their writings too cannot be relevant forever. About
a thousand years ago, the Muslims governed the
major part of the civilized world. In science,
technology, art and culture, they were at the top.
Religious literature produced by the scholars of that
period was relevant for that age. The whole of it
cannot be applied today when the Muslims are
lagging in almost all the developmental indicators.
The issues and the concerns of the Muslims today
are different. The religious scholars of the Middle
Ages understood the utility of arithmetic and
medical science, but they could not comprehend
the value of physics. Those scholars in the past
who considered physics to be unnecessary, may
not feel the same if they get a chance to see how
nations today leverage science in transforming
their countries into an economic and military
powerhouse. Today developed nations can rule the
underdeveloped without even occupying it. In the
contemporary world, we see how just intimidation
of an economic sanction by the great nations brings
the weaker countries on their knees.
We all know power is essential even for
living in peace. All varieties of power for a nation
flows from having the most robust economy and the
strongest military. Both of these come from the
superior science and technology. Rules of the
game have changed. It is high time we tell the world;
we are the veterans of this game, see you in the
universities, libraries and laboratories. Soon we will
be able to bring an era free from oppression and
exploitation for the entire humanity which can be
called the Golden Age not only for Muslims but for
humanity as a whole.
View publication stats

Bibliography

Chaney, Eric. (2016). Religion and the Rise and Fall of Islamic Science. Harvard University
Christopher De Belliague. (2017). The Islamic Enlightenment: The Struggle Between Faith and Reason-1798 to
Modern Times. Liveright Publishing. NY
Al-Hassan. A. Y. (n. d.). History of Science and Technology in Islam.
http://www.history-science-technology.com/articles/articles%207.html
Azhar M. K. (2012). Sir Syed Ahmad Khan: His life and Contribution.
https://www.newageislam.com/books-and-documents/azhar-mohammed-k/sir-syed-ahmed-khan-his-life-
and-contribution/d/9085
Al-Ghazali - Tahafut Al-Falsipha (The Incoherence of Philosophers). Translated by Sabih Ahmad Kamali (1963).
Pakistan Philosophical Congress. Lahore
Al-Ghazali - Tahafut Al-Falsipha (The Incoherence of Philosophers). Translated by Marmura M. E. (2000).
Brigham Young University Press. Utah
Al-Ghazālī - The Confessions of Al-Ghazali: Rescuer from Error, Translated by Claud Field
Al-Ghazali - Ihya Ulum-ud-Din (Revival of Religious Knowledge), Translated by Fazl-ul-Karim
Makdisi, G. (1981). The Rise of Colleges: Institution of Learning in Islam and the West.
Fazlur Rahman. (2003). Revival and Reform in Islam. A Study of Islamic Fundamentalism. Oneworld Publication.
Oxford. England
Hoodbhoy, P. (2007). Science and the Islamic world—The quest for rapprochement. Physics Today. Vol. 60.
Issue 8. https://physicstoday.scitation.org/doi/abs/10.1063/1.2774098?journalCode=pto
Imteyaz, M. (2008). Indo-Muslim Religious thoughts in 19th. Century. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and His Critics.
http://ir.amu.ac.in/1848/1/T%206963.pdf
Lewis, B. (2003). What Went Wrong. New York: Harper Perennial.
Reilly, R. R. (2016). The Closing of the Muslim Mind. ISI
Parray, T. A. (2015). Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan (1817-1898) on Taqlid, Ijtihad, and Science-Religion Compatibility.
Social Epistemology Review and Reply Collective 4, no. 6.
UNDP Arab Human Development Report. (2016).
http://www.arab-hdr.org/reports/2016/english/AHDR2016En.pdf