Is Islam against science?
This answer is a draft. It has not yet been reviewed by our scholars, and it may change.
The short answer
No. The first word revealed of the Quran was “Read” (96:1), and the Quran repeatedly tells people to study and reflect on the natural world. For centuries, Muslim scholars led the world in mathematics, medicine, astronomy and optics. Islam sees studying creation as a way of understanding the Creator.
The Quran tells you to think
The very first revelation began with the command Iqra’, “Read”, and speaks of God teaching humans by the pen (meaning of 96:1–5). The Quran calls on people again and again to look, reflect and use their minds:
In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day, there are signs for people of understanding. (meaning of 3:190)
It asks: are those who know and those who do not know equal? (meaning of 39:9) And it teaches the prayer: “My Lord, increase me in knowledge” (meaning of 20:114).
Muslims helped build modern science
For hundreds of years, Muslim scholars were at the front of science:
- Al-Khwarizmi wrote the book that gave algebra its name, and the word “algorithm” comes from his name.
- Ibn al-Haytham studied light and vision through careful experiments, and is often called a pioneer of the scientific method.
- Ibn Sina (Avicenna) wrote The Canon of Medicine, which was taught in European universities for centuries.
- Al-Biruni estimated the Earth’s radius with impressive accuracy.
They didn’t see a conflict between their faith and their science. For many of them, their faith was the reason they studied the world.
A word of caution
The Quran is a book of guidance, not a science textbook. Some people try to match verses to the latest scientific theory. That can backfire, because scientific theories change as we learn more. It’s better to say: the Quran encourages us to study the world, and nothing we genuinely discover about God’s creation can contradict God’s word.
Specific questions, like evolution, deserve their own careful answers. See the other questions in the Science and Islam topic.
Explain it to a friend
The first word of the Quran revealed to the Prophet was “Read.” Muslim scientists gave the world algebra and algorithms and helped create the scientific method. Islam says studying the universe is a way to appreciate the One who made it.
Ayat referenced
ٱقْرَأْ بِٱسْمِ رَبِّكَ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ١
96:1 Read with the name of your Lord who created (every thing),
پڑھ اپنے رب کے نام سے جو سب کا بنانے والا ہے 96:1
96:1 Read: In the name of thy Lord Who createth,
خَلَقَ ٱلْإِنسَٰنَ مِنْ عَلَقٍ ٢
96:2 He created man from a clot of blood.
بنایا آدمی کو جمے ہوئے لہو سے 96:2
96:2 Createth man from a clot.
ٱقْرَأْ وَرَبُّكَ ٱلْأَكْرَمُ ٣
96:3 Read, and your Lord is the most gracious,
پڑھ اور تیرا رب بڑا کریم ہے 96:3
96:3 Read: And thy Lord is the Most Bounteous,
ٱلَّذِى عَلَّمَ بِٱلْقَلَمِ ٤
96:4 who imparted knowledge by means of the pen.
جس نے علم سکھایا قلم سے 96:4
96:4 Who teacheth by the pen,
عَلَّمَ ٱلْإِنسَٰنَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَمْ ٥
96:5 He taught man what he did not know.
سکھلایا آدمی کو جو وہ نہ جانتا تھا 96:5
96:5 Teacheth man that which he knew not.
إِنَّ فِى خَلْقِ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَٱخْتِلَٰفِ ٱلَّيْلِ وَٱلنَّهَارِ لَـَٔايَٰتٍ لِّأُو۟لِى ٱلْأَلْبَٰبِ ١٩٠
3:190 Surely, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are signs for the people of wisdom,
بیشک آسمان اور زمین کا بنانا اور رات اور دن کا آنا جانا اس میں نشانیاں ہیں عقل والوں کو 3:190
3:190 Lo! In the creation of the heavens and the earth and (in) the difference of night and day are tokens (of His Sovereignty) for men of understanding,
ٱلَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ ٱللَّهَ قِيَٰمًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَىٰ جُنُوبِهِمْ وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِى خَلْقِ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقْتَ هَٰذَا بَٰطِلًا سُبْحَٰنَكَ فَقِنَا عَذَابَ ٱلنَّارِ ١٩١
3:191 who remember Allah standing and sitting, and (lying) on their sides, and ponder on the creation of the heavens and the earth (and say) “Our Lord, You have not created all this in vain. We proclaim Your purity. So, save us from the punishment of Fire.
وہ جو یاد کرتے ہیں اللہ کو کھڑے اور بیٹھے اور کروٹ پر لیٹے اور فکر کرتے ہیں آسمان اور زمین کی پیدائش میں کہتے ہیں اے رب ہمارے تو نے یہ عبث نہیں بنایا تو پاک ہے سب عیبوں سے ہم کو بچا دوزخ کے عذاب سے 3:191
3:191 Such as remember Allah, standing, sitting, and reclining, and consider the creation of the heavens and the earth, (and say): Our Lord! Thou createdst not this in vain. Glory be to Thee! Preserve us from the doom of Fire.
أَمَّنْ هُوَ قَٰنِتٌ ءَانَآءَ ٱلَّيْلِ سَاجِدًا وَقَآئِمًا يَحْذَرُ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةَ وَيَرْجُوا۟ رَحْمَةَ رَبِّهِۦ ۗ قُلْ هَلْ يَسْتَوِى ٱلَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ وَٱلَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ ۗ إِنَّمَا يَتَذَكَّرُ أُو۟لُوا۟ ٱلْأَلْبَٰبِ ٩
39:9 Can (such people be equal to) the one who worships during the hours of night, prostrating himself and standing, fearing the Hereafter and having hopes in his Lord’s mercy? Say, “Can those who know and those who do not know become equal?” It is only the people of understanding who are receptive of the advice.
بھلا ایک جو بندگی میں لگا ہوا ہے رات کی گھڑیوں میں سجدے کرتا ہوا اور کھڑا ہو اخطرہ رکھتا ہے آخرت کا اور امید رکھتا ہے اپنے رب کی مہربانی کی تو کہہ کوئی برابر ہوتے ہیں سمجھ والے اور بے سمجھ سوچتے وہی ہیں جن کو عقل ہے 39:9
39:9 Is he who payeth adoration in the watches of the night, prostrate and standing, bewaring of the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord, (to be accounted equal with a disbeliever)? Say (unto them, O Muhammad): Are those who know equal with those who know not? But only men of understanding will pay heed.
فَتَعَٰلَى ٱللَّهُ ٱلْمَلِكُ ٱلْحَقُّ ۗ وَلَا تَعْجَلْ بِٱلْقُرْءَانِ مِن قَبْلِ أَن يُقْضَىٰٓ إِلَيْكَ وَحْيُهُۥ ۖ وَقُل رَّبِّ زِدْنِى عِلْمًا ١١٤
20:114 So High above all is Allah, the True King! And do not hasten with (reciting) the Qur’ān before its revelation to you is concluded, and say, “My Lord, improve me in knowledge.”
سو بلند درجہ اللہ کا اُس سچے بادشاہ کا اور تو جلدی نہ کر قرآن کے لینے میں جب تک کہ پورا نہ ہو چکے اُس کا اترنا اور کہہ اے رب زیادہ کر میری سمجھ 20:114
20:114 Then exalted be Allah, the True King! And hasten not (O Muhammad) with the Qur'an ere its revelation hath been perfected unto thee, and say: My Lord! Increase me in knowledge.
Further sources
- Jim Al-Khalili, Pathfinders: The Golden Age of Arabic Science (2010)