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Science and Islam provides a detailed account of the relationship between Islam and science from the emergence of the Islamic scientific tradition in the eighth century to the present time. This relationship has gone through three distinct phases. The first phase began with the emergence of science in the Islamic civilization in the eighth century and ended with the rise of modern science in the West; the second period is characterized by the arrival of modern science in the Muslim world, most of which at that time was under colonial occupation; and the third period, which began around 1950, is characterized by a more mature approach to the major questions that modern science has posed for all religious traditions.Based on primary sources, the book presents a panorama of Islamic views on some of the major issues in the current science and religion discourse. Written in accessible language, Science and Islam is an authentic account of the multi-faceted and complex issues that arise at the interface of Islamic intellectual tradition and science. Rich in historical details, the book is a fascinating survey of the interaction of Islamic beliefs with the enterprise of science.
E-Book Content
Science and Islam
MUZAFFAR IQBAL
Greenwood Press
Science and Islam
Recent Titles in Greenwood Guides to Science and Religion Science and Religion, 1450–1900: From Copernicus to Darwin Richard G. Olson Science and Religion, 400 B.C. to A.D. 1550: From Aristotle to Copernicus Edward Grant Science and Nonbelief Taner Edis Judaism and Science: A Historical Introduction Noah J. Efron
Science and Islam
MUZAFFAR IQBAL
Greenwood Guides to Science and Religion Richard Olson, Series Editor
Greenwood Press Westport, Connecticut r London
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Iqbal, Muzaffar. Science and islam / Muzaffar Iqbal. p. cm. — (Greenwood guides to science and religion) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978–0–313–33576–1 (alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0–313–33576–1 (alk. paper) 1. Islam and science. I. Title. BP190.5.S3I672 2007 2007000423 297.2 65—dc22 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. C 2007 by Muzaffar Iqbal Copyright
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2007000423 ISBN-13: 978–0–313–33576–1 ISBN-10: 0–313–33576–1 First published in 2007 Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. www.greenwood.com Printed in the United States of America
The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 The author and the publisher gratefully acknowledge permission to excerpt material from the following sources: Ya‘qub ibn Ishaq al-Kindi, On First Philosophy ( fi al-Falsafah al-Ula). Translated by Alfred L. Ivry. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1974, pp. 70–75. Reprinted by permission of the State University of New York Press. All rights reserved. Ibn Sina-al-Biruni Correspondence, al-As’ilah wa’l-Ajwibah. Translated by Rafik Berjak and Muzaffar Iqbal, Islam and Science, Vol. 1, Nos. 1 and 2, 2003, pp. 91–98 and 253-260. Courtesy of the Center for Islam and Science. Abu Ali al-Husayn ibn Abd Allah Ibn Sina, The Canon of Medicine (al-Qanun fi’l tibb). Adapted by Laleh Bakhtiar from the translation by O. Cameron Gruner and Mazar H. Shah. Chicago: Kazi Publications, 1999, pp. 11–14. Courtesy of the Great Books of the Islamic World, Kazi Publications. Abu Bakr Muhammad bin Tufayl, Hayy ibn Yaqzan, ed. L´eon Gauthier, Beirut, 1936, pp. 70–78, especially translated for the Center for Islam