‘O my Lord! Advance me in knowledge’
(Sura Ta-Ha)
Islam has laid great stress on the acquirement of knowledge. In Islam, religion and science have been treated as twin sisters. Great progress was made in science during the bright era of Islamic civilization from which the west has benefited. In the words of a British historian on the Middle East:
“The Muslims put the kettle on fire and we did the rest.”
Muslim Scientists were the pioneers in Maths, in the various fields of Science: Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, Botany and Military science. The period of the great Muslim scientists is spread over 600 years. The Quranic verses contain lot of information about the natural phenomena. The Quran invites the Muslims to cultivate science knowledge.
Wonder is seed of science. The Muslims studied and marveled at the physical world around them. Their greater stress was on the soul (spirit) and the spiritual elevation through prayer. No account of the relevance of Islam to science shall be complete without an account of Muslim Scientists and their achievements. They made science a living study. Their achievements surpassed that of the ancient Greeks and Roman Scientists.
The following are the striking contributions of the Muslim Scientists:
- They laid the foundations of empirical science and proved, everything by experiments.
- They made science a systematic study through research.
- The Greek had produced only a few Scientists of note and fame as compared to a large number of Muslim Scientists.
- The number of books on science by Muslim Scientists is very large.
- It was Islam that inculcated love for learning and inquiry.
- Modern men of science are specialists in particular discipline or field; but the Muslim men of science performed multiple feats in various branches.
Some of the great Muslim Scientists were Jabir Bin Haiyan, Ibna Jahiz, Yaqboobul Kundi, Al-Farabi, Zakaria Razi, Abu Seena, Al-Baruni, Jabir Bin Fabah, Ghazali, Omer Khayyam, Ibne-Rushd, Nasiruddin Tussi, Ibne-Nafees, Darushqui, Al-Idrees, Ibne-Batuta, Shamsuddin, Zehrabi.
Now the Islamic world is dry in science and scientists. There is not a single man of International fame. We Pakistani can rightly be proud of Prof. Salam (Noble Prize Winner) and Dr. Qadeer. The present education system does not encourage spirit of research. Muslims have become more worldly-mind. They seldom reflect on the mystries of nature. Withered are the glory and the gleam!
