(D) Islam & Knowledge
Islamlendsgreatvaluetothinking.Itasksthelearnedandwisetothink
andthinkagainabout creation,time, nightandday,thesky,the earth,
animal life, man and the universe and what is in it. The Qur'ān says:
“Surelyin thecreationof theheavensandthe earthandthe alterna-
tionofthenightandday,andtheshipthatfloatsintheseawithprofit
tomen,andthewaterAllahsendsdownfromtheskytherewithreviving
the earthafterit isdead, and Hisscattering abroad onitall types of
crawlingthings,andtheturningaboutofthewindsandthecloudssus-
pendedbetweenheavenandearth—surelythereare signsforapeople
who use their mind.”(2:164)
TheQur'ānalsoaskspeopletostudythelivesofthenationswhocame
before,theirthoughtsandthecausesoftheirdeclineandfall,sothatthey
may keep far from the precipices of their destruction. It says,“Indeed
manyeventshavetakenplacebeforeyou,thereforetravelonthe earth
and see whatwas the outcomeof those who rejected [the message of
God].Thisisaclearstatementformankind,andaguidanceandanad-
monition for the pious people.” (3:136)
Inshort, Islam desires that manshouldthink deeplyand freely and
travel across the far horizons of thought and knowledge and take
everything that is best for the improvement of his being.
Forthisreason,Islamvaluesscientificadvancesanddiscoverieswhich
are for the help of humanity, and this is why scientists and scholars
emergedinthe centuriesfollowingtheadventofIslam,todecoratethe
highroadofhumancivilizationwiththejeweloftheirscientificendeav-
ours,somuchsothattheirgreatnameswillshineforeveratthesummit
of scientific history. They include Jābir ibn Hayyān, Rāzi, Ibn Sinā
(Avicenna) andNasīru'd-Din Tusi,who werecelebrities in all the sci-
encesoftheirtime:philosophy,naturalscience,astronomy,alchemy,etc.
ThebooksofIbnSinawereeventaughtinEuropeanuniversitiesupto
theendofthelastcentury.JurjiZaydān,thefamousChristianwriterof
Lebanon, says in hisTa'rikh at-Tamaddun al-Islami,“As soon as Islamic
civilization found its feet, and the new sciences spread among the
Muslims,Muslimscholars appearedwhose thinkingwasmoreimport-
ant thanthe founders of some of the branches of the sciences. In fact