By: By: Spahic Omer
Having been thrust into the heart of creation as the vicegerent on earth by his Creator, Almighty Allah, it is natural that at the core of man’s purpose is his thirst to know both his Creator and creation, as well as his relationships with them. Man is created to know; it would not be an exaggeration to say that the other aspects of his life depend on and are determined by knowledge. Fair to the dynamics of life in general and to man’s prospects in particular—which, after all, Allah conceived and created—Allah met such thirst with favorable terms and conditions.
He endowed man with the powers of senses and reason, further empowering and guiding them through His revealed knowledge, which He conveyed through a multitude of Prophets, the first being Adam and the last, the Seal of Prophets, Muhammad PBUH.
Knowledge and truth exist in
a symbiotic relationship
This way, by integrating and forming a harmonious balance between the provisos and outputs of the hierarchy of different sources of knowledge, man has positioned himself to receive and apply the truth revealed by his Creator effortlessly. Such is the case because knowledge and truth are twins, like two sides of the same coin. Both come from Allah, with knowledge being at once the truth demonstrated and communicated, and truth being the ultimate goal and sanctum of knowledge…
The Qur’an informs us that Adam, the first man and Prophet, was taught the names of all things (al-Baqarah 31) to help him live up to the implications of his understanding of truth and the challenges of his life purpose. According to the Qur’anic message, people are misguided and wrong primarily because they lack knowledge, and they are ignorant mainly because they have turned a deaf ear to the enlightening calls of truth…
From knowledge and truth to falsehood and ignorance
However, as people distorted the revelations of Allah throughout history and the revealed knowledge contained within them, they continued to cut themselves off from their connection to heaven. The separation led to the confinement of their existence, prospects, and hopes within the smallness of their autonomous selves and the tightness of life contexts.
Regardless of which was the cause and which was the effect, both falsehood and ignorance gradually began to seep into humanity’s existential narratives, dominating all its endeavors undertaken under the guise of culture and civilizational progress.
Islam and science
After the advent of Islam as the only truth and the revelation that confirms earlier prophets and their messages, it did not have problems embracing existing notions of knowledge as encompassed within the concept of “scientia,” after appropriately adapting them to Islam. This was due to the universal nature of the Islamic understanding of knowledge and “scientia.” One of the main goals of Islam is to revive the true complexion of truth and knowledge and to restore the strong connection between them. This relationship has existed since the beginning of humanity but has often been obscured by distorted ideas of truth and misguided notions of knowledge all the way through.
Science in modern times dominated by the Western worldview
After the rise of Christianity, which is a form of falsehood and a significant distortion of the Islam revealed to Prophet ‘Isa (Jesus), it became a dominant force that shaped the socio-political, cultural, and intellectual landscapes of the West for about a thousand years.
Most of this period is often referred to as the Dark Ages, contributing to a sense of religiophobia among Westerners. During this time, the vibrant spirit of knowledge, first known as “episteme” and later as “scientia”, gradually faded, leaving only faint traces behind.
However, fully embracing it without reservation is very dangerous, as modern and postmodern Western science often contradicts the values that Muslims hold dear. It is justifiable to express that relying on science dominated by the modern West, in its scientism sense, can undermine one’s Islamic faith. Muslims must be equipped to challenge and see through the misleading marketing tactics of science and its community of scientists.
Therefore, it is essential for all Muslims to engage thoughtfully with science today, taking advantage of its positive aspects while avoiding its negative ones. The latter should be replaced with more suitable alternatives that align with Islamic principles.
Some may refer to this as the Islamization of knowledge and its sciences, while others may call it integration and harmonization. Regardless, one thing is clear: science in the Muslim world must be redefined, reconceived, reoriented, remodeled, and recalibrated to serve Islamic truth and the interests of its people, becoming one of the key assets.
Fueled by the limitless power of faith, it should enable individuals to continually strive for both earthly self-actualization and heavenly ecstasy.
Source: islamicity.org
Wednesday, May 6, 2026
