Prerequisites of Renaissance

The historians of science may differ on various problems concerning science but they are unanimous as regards the need for an appropriate weltanshauung (world-view) for its birth, growth and blossoming.

Science cannot develop in an atmosphere vitiated by dogmatism, fanaticism, obscurantism and intolerance. It can flourish when realism, rationalism, humanism, pluralism, humanism and tolerance are the dominant values of a society.

Modern science emerged during the 16th and 17th centuries, when the great movements of Renaissance and Reformation created the weltanshauung (world-view) which paved the way for its growth.

Prior to Renaissance, it was scholasticism, which circumscribed the mode of thinking by restricting man’s inquiry only to the already known truths. Reason was employed by the scholastics not to discover new truths but to defend the old, moth-eaten dogmas. Scholasticism reduced philosophy to the handmaiden of theology. The scholastics were indifferent to facts and revelled in verbal distinctions and subtleties. They argued by quoting authority and they suffered from blind faith.

Renaissance broke down the rigid scholastic system, which had become an intellectual straitjacket. Renaissance encouraged the habit of regarding intellectual activity as a delightful social adventure, whereas scholasticism encouraged cloistered meditation aimed at preserving a predetermined orthodoxy. Renaissance focused attention on man and nature. It brought about the rise of humanist culture.

Reformation emphasised direct relationship between man and God. It eliminated the role of the priests as intermediaries between God and man; and, the sole repositories of truth as well as the final authority to interpret the word of God.

Thus Renaissance and Reformation threw the gates open for modern science. Modern science has made its way by routing scholasticism. It was Descartes who performed this task. He was not only the founder of modern philosophy but along with Galileo and Newton, creators of modern science.

Descartes started the philosophical odyssey with the dictum: "In order to reach the truth, it is necessary, once in one’s life, to put everything in doubt." Modern science has flourished in an atmosphere marked by philosophical scepticism. It does not take anything for granted. It puts to doubt all dogmas and all certainties. The beliefs of a scientist are tentative not final. They are not based on authority but on evidence. As opposed to scholasticism, which believed in order to understand, modern science understands in order to believe.

Science demands an inquisitive spirit, a pioneering zeal and a Promethean elan. Above all, science demands a world-view suffused with tafakkur, tadabbur and ta’aqul. At least one tenth of the verses of the Quran emphasise tafakkur, tadabbur and ta’aqul. Over and over again the Quran appeals to us: Why don’t you think? Why don’t you rationalise? Why don’t you deliberate?

Having traced the genesis and spirit of modern science, let us see whether there is any dichotomy between Islam and modern science. In Islam, prophecy reaches perfection; and, therefore stands abolished. Hence forth, man is thrown on his own resources for full consciousness. From this follows the abolition of priesthood as the repository of divine knowledge. This, in short, is the meaning of the concept of the finality of prophet-hood. It implies that all personal authority claiming super-natural origin has come to an end in the history of man.

According to Iqbal, "the Prophet of Islam seems to stand between the ancient and modern world. Insofar as the spirit of revelation is concerned, he belongs to the modern world." He goes on to say: "In emphasising nature and history as the sources of knowledge, the Quranic spirit is entirely in harmony with modern science whose weapons of discovery are observation, experimentation and generalisation."

As opposed to the Greeks who entirely depended on deduction and shunned experimentation, considering it menial to work with one’s hands, Islam’s gift to humanity is induction. "Neither Roger Bacon nor his later name-sake has any title to be credited with having introduced the experimental method," says Briffault in his book The Making of History. It has Nazzam who first formulated the principle of doubt as the beginning of all knowledge. Ibn-i-Taimiya showed that induction was the only form of reliable argument.

According to Iqbal, "for purpose of knowledge, the spirit of Muslim culture fixes its gaze on the concrete and the finite." He goes on to say, "As a cultural movement, Islam rejects the old static view of the universe and reaches a dynamic view." According to him: There is nothing changeless except change itself."

There is no conflict between Islam and science. On the contrary, the spirit of Islam is revolutionary and scientific inasmuch as it is iconoclastic and spells death for the false gods of orthodoxy; dogmatism and obscurantism.

It has been the tragedy of the Muslim world that for centuries it has been in the stranglehold of absolutism in the political, economic and spiritual fields; which have spelt intellectual stagnation and degeneration.

The Muslim world has unfortunately bypassed both Renaissance and Reformation. Now there can be no Renaissance and Reformation without social and political emancipation. It is an onerous but absolutely necessary task which the Muslim world must carry out if we want the blossoming of science and culture consequent upon a new weltanshauung whose basic values are pluralism, humanism, tolerance, social justice and real democracy without feudalism, waderaism and the sardari system.