Blogs

Modern Science and the Hermeneutics of the “Scientific Interpretation" of the Qur’an

By General on 8/21/2009 5:55 AM

by Mustafa Abu Sway

Introduction: Allah (SWT) created humanity and, out of His mercy, He bestowed on humanity proper guidance throughout its history. The story of Adam (AS) in the Qur’an shows that he received instruction and revelation, before and after his time in the Garden. Humanity’s beginning was, therefore, an informed one. The instructions that Adam (AS) received were to equip him with the knowledge necessary to relate to his environment and to warn him against satanic temptations: “And He taught Adam the names of all things…” Qur’an, 2: 31 “Then We said: “O Adam! Verily this is an enemy to thee and thy wife: so let him not get you both out of the Garden, so that thou art landed in misery.” Qur’an, 20:117 Despite all warnings, Adam (AS) gave in to Satan’s evil whispering. Nevertheless, Allah SWT chose him for his grace: “He turned to him, and gave him guidance.” Qur’an, 20:122 When Adam (AS) was dismissed from the Garden along with his spouse, after Satan...

Science and Civilization in Islam by Seyyed Hossein Nasr

By General on 8/21/2009 5:50 AM

The Principles of Islam The history of science is often regarded today as the progressive accumulation of techniques and the refinement of quantitative methods in the study of Nature. Such a point of view considers the present conception of science to be the only valid one; it therefore judges the sciences of other civilizations in the light of modern science and evaluates them primarily with respect to their "development" with the passage of time. Our aim in this work, however, is not to examine the Islamic sciences from the point of view of modern science and of this "evolutionistic" conception of history; it is, on the contrary, to present certain aspects of the Islamic sciences as seen from the Islamic point of view. To the Muslim, history is a series of accidents that in no way affect the nontemporal principles of Islam. He is more interested in knowing and "realizing" these principles than in cultivating originality and change as intrinsic virtues. The symbol of Islamic civilization is not a flowing river,...

Reading the Religious Text - A New Approach by Mohammad Shahrour

By General on 8/21/2009 5:45 AM

In my book "Al’Kitab W’al Qu’ran" (The Book and the Qu’ran), published in 1990, I addressed fundamental questions, such as: What is the basis for authority? What is the basis for our relationship to one another, or to the state? To what extent our ideas have been shaped by reading, or a misreading, of fundamental religious texts, particularly the Qu’ran? If someone listened to programs about Islam on Arab televisions, he or she would see that the shaykhs preaching on TV say that Islam is good and Muslims are not good, as if Islam is something free in space. My understanding of meaning of Islam and of the situation of the Muslim world, starts with the definition of what Islam is. I differentiate between "Islam" and "Islamization". "Islam" as such is the holy Qu’ran. But "Islamization" is what people see in the phenomenon, which can be understood by sociology. There is no need for a new Islam, but there is a need for a new Islamization, because Islamization is bounded by history and geography, unlike Islam...

Quantum Revolution Is Not Over Yet-Mehdi Golshani

By General on 8/21/2009 5:41 AM

One can summarize the philosophical presuppositions of classical physics in the following way: There is a physical reality independent of us. This reality is understandable, and the aim of physics is to understand this reality as it is. This reality is decomposable into recognizable components and each component can be described in terms of some definite properties such as mass, electric charge, etc. Macro-objects consist of micro-objects, and one can describe the behavior of macro-objects in terms of the behavior of micro-objects. The time evolution of every system is such that every state of the object is causally determined by its earlier state. Our knowledge of the behavior of physical objects is obtained through observation and experimentation, and the effect of the observation process on the observed system is negligible and is, in any case, calculable. In short, classical physics believed in an objective reality independent of us, and in our ability to get a true picture of this reality....

Equality, Not Just before the Law

By General on 8/21/2009 5:19 AM

Women's Rights in the Islamic World Equality, Not Just before the Law In recent years, women's rights activists in Arab countries have been working hard to improve the lot of women, not only by calling for new laws to be passed, but also by ensuring that they are enforced too. Martina Sabra highlights a few typical examples from the Arab world. Arab women's rights groups are working hard to ensure that not only are laws improved, but that they are enforced too Widad Naggar (not her real name) does not know how old she is. "I guess I'm 46 or so," says the mother of four children from Helwan, one of Cairo's poor neighbourhoods. Widad's birth was not officially registered, so she cannot tell how old she is. Hundreds of thousands of other Egyptian women share her fate. For decades, Widad had neither birth certificate nor identity card. She was unable to vote and could not handle official formalities on her own. Her husband Magdi had to accompany her whenever something needed to be sorted out at school or with the authorities – because of her lack of papers. "I often felt very ashamed," she says....

Creation and Evolution in the Holy Qur'an By Hassan Ali El-Najjar

By General on 7/12/2009 2:21 AM

This is a piece of work in progress, not a complete article yet. Readers find below 34 main verses which the author could identify in the Holy Qur'an about creation and evolution, on the basis of his little knowledge. These are presented in the order of creation and evolutionary processes.

Meanings are explained by consulting with known interpreters like Bin Katheer (Arabic) and Yusuf Ali (English) and by looking at the scientific evidence, particularly from anthropology, biology, and cosmology. The objective is to tell the story of God's creation of life and how it evolved on planet Earth, with particular attention to the creation of humans.

Researchers can find support to the evolutionary theory from the meanings of of these verses. God Almighty started the creation of life on Earth, then left it to evolve as a result of learning from the adaptation to various environments, with intervention from Him to make His creation better.

Human Rights Are Above God’s Rights: Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl

By General on 6/20/2009 6:01 AM

By Oleh In the common Muslim perception, human rights should be subjugated to God’s rights. Thereby they neglect the rights of people who are condemned as heretical or who threaten the religious establishment. Is there an alternative Islamic interpretation? The conversation Novriantoni and Ramy El-Dardiry, members of the Liberal Islam Network (JIL), had with Prof. Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl, Professor of Islamic law at UCLA, could shed some more light on this matter. The discussion took place at the Hilton Hotel in Jakarta on Saturday 24/7, during Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl’s visit to Indonesia. JIL: Dr. Khaled, suicide bombing seems to be a trend among Muslim radicals nowadays. Hashem Saleh, a Syrian intellectual, said that Muslims are focusing on ‘kamikaze . What is your opinion on suicide bombing in the name of Islam? KHALED ABOU EL FADL: First, I refuse to associate this trend with the concept of Jihad. The concept of Jihad is very much different to today’s suicide bombings. Jihad also differs from the...

The Islamic Approach to Natural Philosophy by M.B. Altaie

By General on 6/20/2009 3:39 AM

“Probably no chapter in the history of the cosmological argument is as significant – or as universally ignored – as that of the Arabic theologians and philosophers. Although we find in them the origin and development of two of the most important versions of the cosmological argument, namely the argument from temporality and the argument from contingency, the contribution of these Islamic thinkers is virtually ignored in western anthologies and books on the subject”. William Lane Craig (1979) In Arabic “Kalām” means speech (or a collection of words). However it also means “dialogue” and this is the meaning which was intended for Islamic Kalām. In its philosophical content, “Kalām” is a collection of concepts, assumptions, principles and problems that tries to explain the relationship between God and the physical world in accordance with the basics of Islamic creed. Classically Kalām was considered to form the foundation of jurisprudence, or “Fiqh”, which constitute the base for Islamic “Shari’a”. Kalām was...

Science for humanity: an Islamic perspective by Mehdi Golshani

By General on 6/20/2009 3:28 AM

Scientific work is a human activity for understanding how the natural world works and is structured. Why do human beings seek scientific knowledge? Science, by itself, cannot provide the answer. The response comes from a more comprehensive framework that defines, among other things, one’s goal for scientific activity. Traditionally there have been two major responses to this question: ’science for the sake of science’ and ’science for the sake of understanding God’s handiwork and for taking care of humanity’s lawful physical and spiritual needs’. A third view became dominant during the twentieth century, advocating science for its practical and material benefits. According to the first and third views there should be no limit on the kind of scientific research being done, but according to the second view scientific activity cannot have a free run. Due to the miseries brought about by the abuse of science and its application, especially during the twentieth century, many eminent scholars throughout the world have been crying out for a new attitude toward the goal of scientific enterprise—an attitude that seeks scientific knowledge for the purpose of enriching the spiritual dimension of human beings and for securing human welfare, i.e. seeking knowledge for the sake of humanity, rather than ignoring humanity. Unless this is done there will be no hope for the future of the human race. It is the duty of all scientific academies and institutions to engage in a ’crusade’ for realizing this change of attitude toward the goal of science....

The Reformist Islamic Thinker Muhammad Shahrur: In the Footsteps of Averroes

By General on 6/14/2009 2:01 PM

Muhammad Shahrur's work is a comprehensive attempt to reconcile the religion of Islam with modern philosophy as well as the rational worldview of the natural sciences. According to Shahrur, jurisprudence in the name of God is a farce benefiting only those wanting to maintain political power. Loay Mudhoon introduces this contentious reformist thinker.

Blogs by DRC researchers

DRC's own researchers discussing and posting on diverse subjects on the Qur'an, the world, human society, interpretation, Muslim world, history, science, philosophy etc.