Scientific Exegesis of the Quran-A Viable Project-Mustansir Mir

7/31/2019 Scientific Exegesis of the Quran-A Viable Project-Mustansir Mir

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http://sunnirazvi.net/library/scientific.htm*ScientificExegesisoftheQur'an-AViableProject?*

**

byMustansirMir

AnumberofmodernMuslimwritersseetheQur'anascontaininginformationorknowledgeofascientificnature.Theyhave,accordingly,arguedfortheviabilityofwhatiscalledtafsir'ilmi,orscientificexegesisoftheQur'an.Thispaperpresentsandanalyzesthecaseforandthecaseagainsttafsir'ilmi.Theprincipalconclusionreachedisthat,whilethecaseforsuchtafsiris,atpresent,ratherweak,acredibletafsir'ilmimaycomeintoexistenceifitisauthenticallyanchoredinthelargerIslamictradition.

Keywords:ScientificexegesisoftheQur'an;tafsir;historyofscientifictafasir;al-Ghazali,al-Suyuti,al-Razi;scienceandreligion;revelation.

Introduction

Historically,severalapproachesinthefieldoftafsircanbesaidtobewellestablished.Tafsirriwa'itakestransmittedreport(riwayah)as

itsstaple;tafsirkalamifocusesontheologicalissues;tafsirfiqhidealswithlegalmatters;tafsirnahwidiscussesissuesofgrammar;andtafsiradabitreatsmattersoflanguageandstyle.ButwhilecertaintrendsintheclassicalIslamictraditioncanbetermedscientificor'ilmi,andwhilecertainprominentMuslimscholars--likeAbuHamidal-Ghazali(d.1111),Fakhral-Dinal-Razi(d.1209),andJalalal-Dinal-Suyuti(d.1505)--maybecitedassupportingtheideaofscientificexegesisoftheQur'an,tafsir'ilmiisobviouslynotahistoricallywellestablishedarea;onlyinmoderntimeshasarelativelysustainedattemptbeenmadetoestablishitasanindependentdiscipline,onaparwithothertypesoftafsir.Aspateofworksinseverallanguageshasappeared,andcontinuestoappear,attemptingtoprovethattheQur'ancontainsinformationorknowledgeofascientificnature--"scientific"

inthesenseinwhichthewordisusedprimarilyinthedomainofnaturalsciences.Theseworksrangefromgeneralstatementsofthenatureandscopeoftafsir'ilmitotreatmentsofindividualscientificsubjectsinlightoftheQur'an.(1)

TheCaseforScientificExegesisoftheQur'an

Thehistoricalabsenceofawell-definedfieldoftafsir'ilmiwouldseemtocastsuspicionontheprojectthatsuchtafsirrepresents,forsuchtafsir,oneistemptedtothink,lacksthesanctionoftradition.Afourfoldresponsemayaddresssuchsuspicion.

1.Asnotedabove,tafsir'ilmiisnotcompletelyunattestedinthe

classicalperiodofIslam.

2.Knowledgedevelopsinresponsetorealandconcreteneeds.Tafsirkalami,forexample,arosetomeettheneedtocometogripswithserioustheologicalissues.Today,thedominanceofscienceandthescientificworldviewwouldseemtoencourage,evennecessitate,thecultivationoftafsir'ilmi.

3.TheQur'ancallsitselfabookofguidance(huda),anditissafetoassertthatthephrase"Qur'an-as-huda"aptlydescribestheessential


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characteroftheIslamicscripture.TolimittherangeofQur'anichudatocertaintypesofguidancewouldbearbitrary,amorereasonableviewbeingthattheQur'ancontainshudaofalltypes,notexcludingscientifichuda.Arguably,takingtheQur'anasasourceof,forexample,legalknowledgerepresentsonlyoneoftheseveralpossibleunderstandingsoftheQur'an,andscientificexegesiscouldrepresentanotherpossibleandequallyvalidunderstanding.(2)

4.Inanumberofverses,theQur'andrawsattentiontoavarietyofnaturalphenomena.Itreferstotheorder,balance,andsystemthatcharacterizetheuniverse,totheharmoniousrelationshipamongthevarioussectorsofnature,andtothegeneralpredictabilityoftheworld'sphysicalphenomena(al-Furqan:2;al-Rahman:5-7;al-Mulk:3).Attimes,itoffersspecificdetail,aswhenitreferstothevariousstagesthroughwhichthefetuspasses(al-Hajj:5;al-Mu'minun:12-14;al-Ghafir:67).Similarly,theQur'anicconceptofzawjan(YaSin:36andelsewhere)referstotheprincipleofthecomplementarityofoppositesthatappearstocharacterizemuchofexistence.ThemanyinstancesintheQur'aninvolving,inreferencetooursubject,bothdetailandgeneralstatement,suggestthattheQur'anleaveswideopenthepossibilityofscientificexegesis.

ReasonslikethesemakethecaseforscientificexegesisoftheQur'anaplausibleone.Whatal-Ghazaliandothersintheclassicalperiod

attemptedonasmallscalehasbeenundertakenonalargerscaleinmoderntimes.Forexample,theEgyptianscholarTantawiJawhari(d.1940),inhismultivolumecommentaryontheQur'an(3),arguesthatallscientificdiscoveriescanbeshowntohavebeenmentionedintheIslamicscripture.Morerecently,theFrenchsurgeonMauriceBucaille,aconverttoIslam,hasachievednotorietywithhisbest-sellingbookTheBible,theQur'anandScience,(4)maintainingthat,unliketheBible,theQur'ancontainsscientificallyimpeccableknowledge.Notonlyindividualscholars,butalsolargeorganizations,evengovernments,haveevincedinterestinthestudyoftheQur'anasabookcontainingscientificinformationandinsight.

Thus,inseveralMuslimcountries,specialconferencesandseminarson

theQur'anandsciencehavebeenheldatwhichpapersdealingwithvariousaspectsofthesubjecthavebeenread.Theprincipalconclusionreachedatthesemeetings,asalsointheMuslimliteratureonthesubject,isthatthereiscompleteharmonybetweenscienceandtheQur'an.

TheCaseAgainstScientificExegesis

Acommonargumentagainsttafsir'ilmiisthattheQur'anwasnotmeanttobeabookofscience.DrawingonAbuIshaqash-Shatibi's(d.1388)critiqueoftafsir'ilmi,MuhammadHusaynash-DhahabiremarksthattheQur'anwassentdowntoservenotasacompendiumofmedicine,astronomy,geometry,chemistry,ornecromancy,butasabookofguidancethatwouldleadhumanityoutofdarknessandintolight.(5)AQur'anic

dictumfrequentlycitedinsupportoftafsir'ilmiisal-An'am:38:mafarratnafil-kitabiminshay'in,WehavemissednothingintheBook.Thewordfarrataintheverseliterallymeans"toneglect,tooverlook,toleaveoutofcalculation."ButDhahabisaysthattheverseshouldnotbeinterpretedtomeanthattheQur'ancontainsdetailsofalltypesofknowledge(annahuhawakullal-'ulumijumlatanwa-tafsilan),butonlythatitcontainsgeneralprinciples(usul'ammah)ofallthosemattersthathumanbeingsmustneedtoknowandactbyinordertoreachphysicalandspiritualperfection.Theverse,Dhahabiadds,leavesthedooropenforhumanbeingstofigureoutandelucidate,totheextent


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possibleinagivenage,detailsofdifferentdisciplinesofknowledge.(6)AsfortheQur'anicversesthatdealwithnaturalandexistentialphenomena,theyaremeanttotrainandhonehumanintellectualandperceptualabilitiestoderiveusefulmorallessonsfromthosephenomena.(7)

Theconceptoftafsir'ilmiisalsovulnerableonthegroundthatscienceischangeable,andthatitiswrongtointerprettheQur'aninlightofscience,sincenotonlyscientificdiscoveries,butscientificparadigms,too,becomeoutdated.Areviewoftheliteraturesupportingtafsir'ilmiwillshowthatitdiscreetlyavoidscitingscientificfindingsthat,say,ahundredyearsago,mighthavebeencitedinelucidationofcertainversesbuthavetodaybecomeobsolete,leavingonewonderingwhetherthescientificfindingsoftodaywouldbecitedinscientificexegesisoftheQur'anahundredyearsfromnow.

Nordoestheactualcommentaryproducedinthenameoftafsir'ilmiinspiremuchconfidence.Inthefirstplace,theclaimsmadeabouttherangeoftafsir'ilmiarerathertall.AglanceattheTableofContentsinAfzalurRahman'sQur'anicSciencesshowsthat,accordingtotheauthor,theQur'andealswithallthemajornaturalandsocialsciencesthatareincludedintoday'stypicaluniversitycurriculum:astronomy,physics,chemistry,botany,zoology,geology,geography,anthropology,sociology,economics,psychology.AfzalurRahmansuggests,forexample,

thatayatsuchasal-Sharh:1-3mayhavecontributedtothefoundationof"surgicalmedicineandthestudyofanatomyintheearlyphaseofIslamiccivilisation,"(8)andthataverselikeQaf':22"mighthaveinitiatedresearchinthescienceofophthalmologyamongMuslimscientists."(9)

Inthesecondplace,theinterpretationoftheso-called"scientific"versesleavesmuchtobedesired.Oneofthemostfrequentlycitedversesinsupportoftafsir'ilmiisal-Anbiya:30:a-wa-lamyaralladhinakafaruannas-samawatiwa-l-ardakanataratqanfa-fataqnahuma(HavethedisbelieversnotseenthattheheavensandtheearthwereclosedupandthenWesplitthemopen?).TheverseistakentoprovethattheQur'analreadyprefiguredtheBigBangtheory.Thecontextof

theverse,however,hardlyadmitsofsuchinterpretation.AsAminAhsanIslahisaysinhiscommentaryontheQur'an,thisverse,inlinewiththoseprecedingandfollowingit,furnishesproofofmonotheismandresurrection.AccordingtoIslahi,theversedrawsattentiontothefact,commonlyobservedbytheArabaddresseesoftheQur'an,thatevenastheskiesandtheearthareclosedup--inthesensethatnorainfallsfromtheskiesandnovegetationgrowsfromtheground--oneseesthat,allofasudden,theskiesopenupandsenddowntorrentialrainsandtheearth,deaduntilnow,isrevivedthroughtheagencyofrainwaterandyieldsitstreasuresofvegetation.Thewholephenomenonconstitutesstrongevidenceofthepossibilityofthehereafter:thatwhichwasdeaduntilyesterdaybecomesalivetoday.

Furthermore,thecollaborationbetweentheskyandtheearthtoproducelifeintheformofvegetationisproofthatthesameoneGodrulesovertheheavensandtheearth.(10)

Inthethirdplace,onehastorememberthattheattempttoshowcompatibilitybetweenscriptureandsciencehasbeenmadebyscholarsinotherreligionsaswell,especiallyinChristianity.ChristianwritershaveproducedalargenumberofworksinwhichtheytrytoshowthatmodernsciencevindicatestheBibletothelastdetail.Notunexpectedly,ChristianwritershavecriticizedMuslimwriters'attempts


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toprovetheclaimedcompatibilityoftheQur'anwithscience.Thus,WilliamCampbell,inhisTheQur'anandtheBibleintheLightofHistoryandScience(11)interpretsverydifferentlythedatapresentedbyMauriceBucailleandreachesconclusionsthatsupporttheBibleandthrowdoubtontheveracityoftheQur'an.ItwouldbeinterestingtomakeacomparativestudyofthemethodsusedbyChristianandMuslimwriterstopressscientificdataintotheserviceoftheirreligions.Attheleast,however,thepossibilityofsuchdiverseinterpretationsofthesamedataraisesquestionsaboutthevalidityoftheexercisetoharmonizescriptureandscience.

Astrikingfactabouttafsir'ilmiisthatmanyofitsproponentslackpropercredentialsasscholarsoftheQur'an.Infact,theyusuallymakenoapologyforthis"lack,"andseemtothinkthatthetwomostimportantqualificationsforproducingsuchtafsirarepossessionofsomeknowledgeofscientificdiscoveriesandtheabilitysomehowtorelatethesediscoveriesto--orrather,to"derive"thesediscoveriesfrom--someQur'anictext.Anothernotablefactabouttafsir'ilmiisthatitisoftenpromotedunderofficialpatronage.BoththesefactsarebroughtintoreliefbytheconferencesandseminarssponsoredbygovernmentsintheMuslimworld.Atthesemeetings,whicharefrequentlypresidedoverbyheadsofstateorministersofreligiousaffairs,"scholarly"papersarepresentedbybureaucratsandofficialswhohaveotherwiselivedalifecompletelyuntaintedbyscholarship.Theseevents

arelikeflashfloodsinthedesert;theyneitherariseoutofasolidtraditionnorcontributetothebuildingofone.

AnalysisandComment

TheforegoinghasindicatedmyambivalenceabouttheviabilityofscientificexegesisoftheQur'an.Despitemyreservations,however,Idonotthinkthatsuchexegesisisimpossibleinprinciple.Isaythisforthreereasons.

Asnotedabove,manyQur'anicversesmakereferencetophenomenathatseemtohavepotentialfor"scientific"interpretation.JustasajuristreadingtheQur'anislikelytopaymoreattentiontoitslegislative

versesanddrawouttheirimplications,soabiologistreadingtheQur'ancanbeexpectedtoshowgreaterinterestinandstudymoredeeplytheversesthatspeakof,forexample,thegrowthofthefetusinthewomb.Thejurist'sinterest,inotherwords,isnotprivilegedoverthebiologist's.

Fromalinguisticstandpoint,itisquitepossibleforaword,phrase,orstatementtohavemorethanonelayerofmeaning,suchthatonelayerwouldmakesensetooneaudienceinoneageandanotherlayerofmeaningwould,withoutnegatingthefirst,bemeaningfultoanotheraudienceinasubsequentage.Anexampleisthewordsabh("toswim,tofloat")inaverselikeal-Anbiya':33:wahuwalladhikhalaqal-laylawa-n-naharawa-sh-shamsawa-l-qamarakullunfifalakinyasbahuna(AndHeistheOne

Whocreatedthenightandtheday,andthesunandthemoon--eachswimminginanorbit).Thewordyasbahunintheversemadegoodsensetoseventh-centuryArabsobservingnaturalphenomenawiththenakedeye;itisequallymeaningfultousinlightoftoday'sscientificfindings.

Itisquitepossiblethatthesuspectedinviabilityoftafsir'ilmimaybeduenotsomuchtotheproject'sinherentlimitationsbuttothefactthatnocrediblescientificexegesisoftheQur'anhassofarbeenproduced,therebeingnoreasonwhysuchexegesiscannotbeproducedinthefuture.Afterall,ittookseveralcenturiesforSufismtobecome


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integratedintotheso-calledmainstreamIslam.LikeSufism,tafsir'ilmimayhavetowaitforitsGhazali;itmayeventuallyestablishitselfasarealityonthegroundandthosewhoaretryingtoproveitsinviabilitymayfindthemselvesinthesamepositionasthephysicianinVoltaire'sstoryZadig,whowasunabletocuretheabscessinthehero'seye,butwhowroteabooktoarguethattheabscess,whichsubsequentlyhealedofitself,shouldnothavesohealed.

Iwouldliketomakeafewobservationsbywayofconclusion.

1.Twomotivesseemtounderlietheadvocacyoftafsir'ilmi.Thefirst,negativeincharacter,canbedescribedasthewishtodemonstratethatthereisnoconflictbetweentheQur'anandscientificfindings.Thesecondmotive,positiveincharacter,canbedescribedasthewishtoprovewhatistermedtheQur'an'si'jazilmi("scientificinimitability")--thatis,thewishtoprovethatthepresenceofverifiablescientificinformationintheQur'anwillestablishtheQur'anastheWordofGod,sincesuchabookcouldhaveemanatedonlyfromaDivinesource.Intheend,ofcourse,thetwomotivesareliketwosidesofthesamecoin.Iwouldliketosayawordabouteach.

Theprojectofestablishingcompatibility(muwafaqah)betweentheDivineWordandscientificfindingsis,bydefinition,defensiveincharacter.Muslimthinkersfirstengagedinasimilarexerciseinmuwafaqahduring

theAbbasidperiod,whentheyfeltconstrainedtoreconcileGreekthoughtwithIslamicreligion.Thearenaofdiscussionatthattimewastheology;today,itisscience,butthenatureoftheexerciseisessentiallythesame.ThechallengethatmodernscienceinitiallyposedtoChristianityhasnowbeenposedtoallreligions--totheveryideaofreligionitself.Muslimsnaturallyfeeltheforceofthechallenge,whetherornottheyunderstanditsexactnature,andsomeofthemthinkthatitwouldbeanadequatedefenseofIslamtodemonstratethatthereisnoconflictbetweentheQur'anandscienceor,goingastepfurther,thattheQuranprefiguresmodernscience.

Asfori'jaz'ilmi,IamafraidIregardtheattemptstoestablishitasmistakeninprinciple.ThethemeofQur'anici'jazhasfascinated

generationsofMuslimscholarsandhasledtotheproductionofmanyworks,butIsuspectthattheQur'anicchallengethatthosewhodoubttheDivineoriginoftheBookshouldproducethelikeofitwasaimedattheQur'an'sfirst,disbelievingArabaudience,andthefailureofthataudiencetoproducethelikeoftheQur'anclosedthechapterofi'jazforgood,therebeingnoneedtoreopenitineverysubsequentage.TheviewthatadvancesmadeinknowledgeovertimewillbearouttheQur'anisnotcontravenedbythepositiontakeninthispaper--namely,thattheQur'ancannotbeheldhostagetoachangingscience.

2.Itisacuriousfactthat,intheearlycenturieswhichwitnessedintenseMuslimscientificactivity,themajorQur'ancommentariesare,generally,freeofreferencestoscience,whereastoday,whenMuslim

scientificactivityhasdeclined,manyMuslimshavesupposedlyfoundinscienceanallyandadefenderofthefaithofIslam.Today,themainstayoftafsir'ilmiismodernscience,which,regardlessofitslineageandofthehistoryofitsdevelopment,isaproductofWesterncivilization.(12)Thequestion,whetherscienceisvalue-freeorvalue-ladenisanimportantone.Therearestrongreasonstobelievethat,bothinitsconceptionandinitsprosecution,ascientificcultureisinextricablytiedtothematrixofthecivilizationthatproducesit.Scienceisnotanabstractorfacelessphenomenon;itisbasedonasetofpresuppositionsderivedfromasocialandcultural


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framework,andithasacharacter,atemper,andanidentity.(13)Initspresentform,tafsir'ilmi,Isuspect,seekstobaptizeWesternscienceinthenameofIslam.Inotherwords,itlacksauthenticityoforigin.Inourcontext,authenticityoforiginmaybedefinedasindigenousnessofimpetus,perspective,andstructure.Muchofthe"scientific"exegesisoftheQur'anwouldfailtomeasureuptothisdefinition.

3.Anyviewoftheso-calledscientificdataintheQur'anmustbeconsistentwithone'sviewoftherestoftheQur'anicdata--thehistoricaldata,forexample.Chapter30oftheQur'an,entitledal-Rum(TheRomans),makesawell-knownpredictionthatcametrue--namely,thattheRomans,whohadbeendefeatedbytheIranians,wouldsoonturnthetablesonthelatter.ButthefactthattheQur'anmadeaspecificpredictionwhichturnedouttobetruedoesnotnecessarilyimplythattheQur'ancontainsinformationaboutallfutureevents.NoonewouldclaimthattheQur'anmakesreferencetoTariqibnZiyad'sinvasionofSpainin711,toSalahuddin'svictoryovertheCrusadersatHattinin1187,ortotheIranianRevolutionof1979.Afterall,iftheQur'ancontains--touseapopularphrase--'ilmal-awwalinwa-l-akhirin("knowledgeofthefirstandthelastgenerations")--thenthisshouldbetrueofhistorynolessthanofscience.IftheQurancannotbeclaimedtobearepositoryofalltheeventsthatwouldeverhappeninhistoricaltime,itcannotbeclaimedtobearepositoryofallthe

scientificinventionsanddiscoveriesthatwouldeverbemade.

4.Followingtheabove-statedprinciple--namely,thatourviewoftheso-calledscientificversesintheQuranshouldbeconsonantwithourviewofitsnon-scientificverses--onecanlegitimatelyarguethattheQur'anencouragesscientificstudyofnature.TheQur'an,thoughnotabookofhistoryassuch,canyetbesaidtohaveencouragedstudyofhistory--andonecanmakeasimilarargumentforlawandothersubjects.TheQur'annotonlylaysdownthelawornarrateshistoricalanecdotes,butalsoinspires.ItinspiredtheearliergenerationsofIslamwithavisionandadrive,whichledMuslimstoestablishadistinctiveintellectualtradition.Infoundingthattradition,Muslimswerealsostimulatedbytheirenvironment,whichincludedthethendominant

currentsofthoughtsandmovementsofideas.IseenoharminMuslimsreceiving,today,asimilarstimulusfromthemodernintellectualenvironment,ofwhichscienceformssuchanimportantcomponent.TheQur'anicexhortationtoreflectontheubiquitoussignsofGod(al-Baqarah:164;Yunus:6,101;al-'Ankabut:20;al-Jathiah:3-5;andpassim)hasnotlostitsforce.ThatMuslimsneedtorespondtotheQur'aniccallforareflectivestudyofnaturemustbeadmitted.Buttheymustensurethattheyareadequatelypreparedtomakesucharesponse.Thepreparationincludesbecomingwell-versedinthelongstandingandrichMuslimtraditionofknowledge,learningtorespectthattradition,andworkingfromwithinthattraditiontoopenupfreshhorizonsoflearningandscholarship.(14)Theprojectoftafsir'ilmi,unlessitcangiveevidenceofauthenticityoforigin,willneverbe

trulyviableinIslam.

(1.)Someoftheseworksare:HasanHamid'Atiyyah,Khalaqas-Samawatiwa-l-ArdafiSittatiAyyaminfil-'ilmiwa-l-Qur'an(Tunis:Nashrwa-Tawzi'Mu'assasat'Abdal-Karimb.'Abdallah,1992);MohammedGamalElDinEl-Fandy,WhyIamaBeliever,trans.fromtheArabicbyTahaOmarandrevisedbyM.G.El-Fandy(Cairo:TheSupremeCouncilforIslamicAffairs,n.d.);MuhammadMansurHasaban-Nabi,Al-Qur'anal-Karimwa-l-'Ilmal-Hadith(Cairo':Al-Hay'ahal-Misriyyahal-'Ammahli-l-Kitab,1991);Musaal-Khatib,MinDala'ilal-I'jazal-'ilmifi


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l-Qur'anwa-s-Sunnahan-Nabawiyyah(Cairo:Mu'assasatal-Khalijal-'Arabili-t-Tiba'ahwa-n-Nashr,1415/1994);'Abdar-RazzaqNawfal,Minal-Ayatal-'Ilmiyyah(CairoandBeirut:Darash-Shuruq,1409/1989);andAfzalurRahman,Qur'anicSciences(London:TheMuslimSchoolsTrust,1981);Siddiqui,Raziuddin,Qur'anawrSians(Aligarh:Anjuman-iTaraqqi-iUrduHind,1946).

(2.)Cf.MehdiGolshani:"Allsciences,whethertheologicalorphysical,aremeansforobtainingproximitytoGod,and,aslongastheyplaythisrole,theyaresacred."MehdiGolshani,TheHolyQur'anandtheSciencesofNature(Binghamton:InstituteofGlobalCulturalStudies,BinghamtonUniversity,1999),p.5.

(3.)TantawiJawhari,al-JawahirfiTafsiral-Qur'anal-Karimal-Mushtamil'alaal-'Aja'b,26vols.(Cairo:Mustafaal-Babial-Halabi,n.d.).

(4.)MauriceBucaille,TheBible,theQur'anandScience(Indianapolis:NorthAmericanTrustPublications,1978).

(5.)MuhammadHusaynadh-Dhahabi,Al-Ittijahatal-MunharifahfiTafsiral-Qur'anal-Karim(Cairo:Daral-I'tisam,1396/1976),pp.86-7.

(6.)Ibid.,p.87.

(7.)layuraduminhuillariyadatuwijdanatin-nasiwa-tawjihu'ammatihimwakhassatihimilamakanil-'izatiwa-l-'ibratiwa-laftuhumilaayatiqudratillahiwa-Dala'iliwahdaniyyatihi,ibid.,p.87.

(8.)Qur'anicSciences,p.327.

(9.)Ibid.,p.328.

(10.)AminAhsanIslahi,Tadabbur-iQur'an.9vols.(Lahore:FaranFoundation,2000),vol.4,pp.278-9.

(11.)WilliamF.Campbell,TheQur'anandtheBibleintheLightof

HistoryandScience(UpperDarby,Pennsylvania:MiddleEastResources,1986).

(12.)AsZiauddinSardarputsit:"[M]odernscienceisdistinctivelyWestern.AllovertheglobeallsignificantscienceisWesterninstyleandmethod,whateverthepigmentationorlanguageofthescientist."ZiauddinSardar,ExplorationsinIslamicScience(LondonandNewYork:Mansell,1989),p.6.

(13.)InExplorationsinScience,pp.95-7,ZiauddinSardarsummarizes,intableform,themajordifferencesbetweenWesternscienceandIslamicscience.AMuslimscientist,quotedbySardar,says:"Scienceisintricatelylinkedwithideologyinitsemphasis,scaleofpriorities,

controlanddirectionofresearch,tosuchanextentthatscientistshavenowbecomeideologues"(ibid.,p.2).SeealsoJ.R.Ravets,"ScienceandValues"inZiauddinSardar(ed.),TheTouchofMidas:Science,ValuesandEnvironmentinIslamandtheWest(PetalingJaya,Malaysia:PelandukPublications,1988),pp.43-53.

(14.)Cf.Yusufal-Qaradawi'sguardedacceptanceofthenotionofi'jaz'ilmi,Yusufal-Qaradawi,Al-'Aqlwa-l-'Ilmfi-l-Qur'anal-Karim(Cairo:MaktabatWahbah,1416/1996.Minat-Tafsiral-Mawdu'ili-l-Quranal-Karim),pp.292-6.


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MustansirMirisProfessorofIslamicStudiesandDirector,CenterforIslamicStudies,DepartmentofPhilosophyandReligiousStudies,421DeBartoloHall,YoungstownStateUniversity,Youngstown,Ohio44555-3448,USA;Email:[email protected]

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Scientific Exegesis of the Quran-A Viable Project-Mustansir Mir