format_quote Originally Posted by
DanEdge
Why would a religious-dominated polity expend massive resources to collect such knowledge?
the pioneers of Islam came through an internal struggle when the Prophet pbuh appeared, they weren't just receiving updates on the established knowledge they already possessed as it was with the people of previous scripture, they were going through a total revolution in regards to their frame of mind and that of their recent ancestors, they were required to use their intellects and adopt truth when they saw it - even if it meant throwing away all the false notions they had aquired over the centuries, the mindset required humility and a will to know, to cast aside arrogance and schism and seek the truth and adopt it wherever they found it, so when the Islamic leaders would overrun a kingdom, one of their first tasks would be to set huge teams of translators to decrypt the information possessed by the people of the area, it also helped them to understand the current mindset of the people over whom they had accepted administration.
a classic example would be the adoption and dissemination of the numerical digit zero which was sitting dormant in a small geographical location, they didn't just smirk at or ignore it like many others had, because they had developed a trend of reaching upwards.
format_quote Originally Posted by
DanEdge
many religions regard the scientific method as anti-religion, because faith implies absolute knowledge, while science demands skepticism. Is Islam an exception in this regard?
depends on how you perceive the term science, whether it is a study of life and phenomena based on sincerity, truth and openmindedness or a schismatic endeavour embarked upon in order to reinforce what one perceives to be one's own (even if faulty) traditional or personal superiority.
the following verses should give you an idea of how lofty their goals were being set at:
When it is said to them: "Follow what Allah hath revealed:"
They say: "Nay! we shall follow the ways of our fathers."
What! even though their fathers Were void of wisdom and guidance?
(Surah Al-Baqara, 170)
120.*Never will the Jews or the Christians be satisfied with thee unless thou follow their form of religion.
Say: "The Guidance of Allah,-that is the (only) Guidance."
Wert thou to follow their desires after the knowledge which hath reached thee, then wouldst thou find neither Protector nor helper against Allah.
121.*Those to whom We have sent the Book study it as it should be studied: They are the ones that believe therein: Those who reject faith therein,- the loss is their own.
(Surah Al-Baqara, 120-121)
ours vs yours can cause one to conceal or fabricate - rise above it and seek the truth:
70.*Ye People of the Book! Why reject ye the Signs of Allah, of which ye are (Yourselves) witnesses?
71.*Ye People of the Book! Why do ye clothe Truth with falsehood, and conceal the Truth, while ye have knowledge?
72.*A section of the People of the Book say: "Believe in the morning what is revealed to the believers, but reject it at the end of the day; perchance they may (themselves) Turn back;
73.*"And believe no one unless he follows your religion."
Say: "True guidance is the Guidance of Allah.
(Fear ye) Lest a revelation be sent to someone (else) Like unto that which was sent unto you? or that those (Receiving such revelation) should engage you in argument before your Lord?" Say: "All bounties are in the hand of Allah. He granteth them to whom He pleaseth: And Allah careth for all, and He knoweth all things."
74.*For His Mercy He specially chooseth whom He pleaseth; for Allah is the Lord of bounties unbounded.
from Quran chapter Aale Imran.
plus we're constantly told to ponder on creation, to travel the lands, to research the histories of those who passed before, to question ourselves etc.
it is indeed sad when you see many lawful scientific research and findings limited or suppressed by the fact that the funding and media coverage is controlled by criminals in positions of authority who care no more for the facts and wider implications than they care for the short and quick gains to be milked from the interpretation of the research. where corporate balance sheets and political implications take precedence over facts which will help the whole of mankind to consider and advance.
i am what/who i am remember?
75.*Can ye (o ye men of Faith) entertain the hope that they will believe in you?- Seeing that a party of them heard the Word of Allah, and perverted it knowingly after they understood it.
76.*Behold! when they meet the men of Faith, they say: "We believe": But when they meet each other in private, they say: "Shall you tell them what Allah hath revealed to you, that they may engage you in argument about it before your Lord?"- Do ye not understand (their aim)?
77.*Know they not that Allah knoweth what they conceal and what they reveal?
78.*And there are among them illiterates, who know not the Book, but (see therein their own) desires, and they do nothing but conjecture.
79.*Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands, and then say:"This is from Allah," to traffic with it for miserable price!- Woe to them for what their hands do write, and for the gain they make thereby.
80.*And they say: "The Fire shall not touch us but for a few numbered days:" Say: "Have ye taken a promise from Allah, for He never breaks His promise? or is it that ye say of Allah what ye do not know?"
81.*Nay, those who seek gain in evil, and are girt round by their sins,- they are companions of the Fire: Therein shall they abide (For ever).
82.*But those who have faith and work righteousness, they are companions of the Garden: Therein shall they abide (For ever).
if you think carefully you'll see that the whole methodolgy being imprinted in them was scientific from the outset.