“And declare: The truth has come, and falsehood has vanished. Indeed, falsehood is bound to vanish” (Quran 17:81)

After dominating the world’s cultural and civilizational scene for many centuries, the Muslim Ummah slowly found itself in crisis as our cultural identities and civilizational existence were in trouble.

From the beginning of the nineteenth century, the situation went from bad to worse, reaching its climax about a century later, in the first quarter of the twentieth century, when the virtually lifeless Ottoman Sultanate and the weakened, largely symbolic institution of the Caliphate were abolished, and many Muslim lands were divided among the major European powers.

The ideological perspective of modern Western civilization was shaped by two significant periods: the Renaissance (14th-16th century) and the Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason (17th-19th century). Its essence was composed of scientific inquiry, empiricism, and freedom, though rooted in atheism, agnosticism, nihilism, and ethical relativism. Its immediate results, and at the same time, the scene of its dynamic processes and continuous progress, were the first (18th-19th centuries) and second (19th-20th centuries) industrial revolutions.

While the West praised and exalted knowledge at the levels of theory, validity, sources, methods (epistemology), and application—making knowledge (science) the face of Western civilization—Muslims, to a surprising degree, were underperforming in the same area.

Every story of science always started in Europe or catapulted itself from Greek Antiquity to the European Renaissance. The general attitude of Western academia until recently has been of turning a blind eye to the millennia in between, that saw the flowering of a rich scientific tradition in the Muslim world.

Moreover, during the 20th century, the Islamic world became introduced to Western science, facilitated by the expansion of education systems. For example, in 1900 and 1925, universities were established in Istanbul and Cairo, marking significant milestones.

However, this introduction brought about new concerns among students. One major issue was the conflict between naturalism, social Darwinism, and the teachings of the Holy Quran. At that time, some efforts were made to harmonize science with Islam. Indeed, some Muslim scientists and scholars began to develop a spectrum of viewpoints on the place of scientific learning within the context of the Holy Quran.

However, in recent years, the Muslim world's backwardness in science has been manifested by the disproportionately low amount of scientific production, measured by citations to articles published in scientific journals with international circulation, annual expenditures on research and development, and the number of researchers and engineers. Concerns have been expressed that the contemporary Muslim world suffers from scientific illiteracy.

Despite the advances of science in Western societies, the fundamental cause of the worldwide issues currently confronting the globe is the tendency of scientists who are not affiliated with Islam to perceive nature as an adversary to be conquered and exploited, rather than a harmonious entity to be respected. In fact, the pursuit of knowledge, which is primarily based on philosophy and atheism, becomes unethical and destructive when nature is treated as a material object rather than as a gift from Allah (SWT).

Because of this practice, nature has undergone many changes caused by modernization and industrialization for the sole purpose of a comfortable life and economies based on consumption and profits. As a result, the face of the Earth is constantly and rapidly deteriorating due to land, sea, and air pollution of all kinds.

The main culprits behind the pollution and degradation of the quality of human life, flora, and fauna are human beings themselves, as Allah (SWT) says:

“Mischief has appeared on land and sea because of what the hands of men have done, that (Allah) may give them a taste of some of their deeds: in order that they may turn back (from evil)” (Quran 30:41).

Moreover, the deviation from this Quranic verse:

“Indeed, We have sent Our Messengers with clear proof, and revealed with them the Scripture and the Balance that mankind may keep justice” (Quran 57:25) is the main source of international injustice, the increasing gap between the poor and the rich, the rise of poverty worldwide, global warming, human emigration flows to rich countries, crimes, and wars.

“[This is] a blessed Book which We have revealed to you, that they might reflect upon its verses and that those of understanding would be reminded” (Quran 38:29).

In concordance with this Quranic verse, some Muslim scientists feel once again the need for the “Re-Islamization of Science” and have turned once again to these primary sources (Quran and Sunnah) in search of an alternative vision of certain scientific principles and to seek new ideas in this source of knowledge.

Indeed, it is widely recognized that the Quran contains many hidden meanings that evolve with different interpretations as science progresses. Therefore, the correlation between the Holy Quran, the Sunnah, and recent scientific discoveries unveils further interpretations that Muslim scientists can propose for these texts.