Qur'anic Atiitude Towards Scientific Spirit

Abstract

In what way, if any, and to what extend has the Qur'an influenced the minds of Muslims who have managed to contribute much to the rise and development of scientific spirit in the Muslim world? This is the main ques-. tion that I will try to answer in this paper. So, the history of science and the actual achievements of Muslim scientists do not directly concern us here. As we all know, before the revelation of the Qur'an the intellectual output of the Arabs consisted mainly of poetry and oratory. The level of scientific curiousity, let alone a working scientific spirit, was at its lowest, and it showed no sign of growth. However, soon after the death of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) Muslims came out very successfully not only in widening their geographical territories but their intellectual horizons as well. They opened their minds to the achievements of the Greeks, Indians and Persians in science and philosophy. They intelligently evaluated and at a later stage assimilated those cultural elements that were in keeping with the teachings of the Qur'an. From the eight century onwards, Muslims reached with amazing speed at an intellectual level where science and philosophy lived their heyday. This is an obvious historical fact that needs no justification of any sort. Now, here again I would like to pose the following question: What was the spiritual power behind the achievements of the Muslim mind? The prophet (s.a. w.) and his close associates had managed to set up a socio-political structure which was extremely just and human. This was not something unexpected. An idea in this case the penetrating ideas of the Qur'an that shows its influence first on the psychological and then on the sociological levels. Philosophical and scientific developments require every student of history knows, a comparatively longer time and a certain amount of accumulation. It should be borne in mind that not only the production of original and lasting works but a clear understanding, a critical evaluation and interpretation of the outputs of bygone cultures require a healthy and mature frame of mind. That teachings of the Qur'an contributed significantly to the attainment of such a frame of mind is beyond any doubt. This can easily be seen in so many works by Muslim philosophers and men of science. I wish to take a few examples to substantiate the point. Ibn Rushd, the wellknown Muslim philosopher, said in his Fasl-AI-MaqaI that the law (Shari')