It is known that the scientific and cultural movement carried out by the Prophet, may God’s blessings and peace be upon him, was multifaceted, and the Islamic era that began with his leadership, may God bless him and grant him peace, in Medina was the beginning of a new and good era for all mankind .. and a covenant of science, culture and knowledge.

The Prophet Muhammad, may God’s blessings and peace be upon him, according to the opinion of many scholars of the East and West, inaugurated a new era, an era of light, science and knowledge. His struggle was when he pronounced the Islamic call to spread the message of God to remove the clumsy beliefs and black social patterns that accumulated in that pre-Islamic community. What prompted Dr. Marx to announce his famous saying, which he stated: This is the Prophet, may God’s blessings and peace be upon him, who inaugurated the era of science, light and knowledge with his message, his sayings and deeds must be written in in a special scientific way, so far these instructions by him (i.e may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is God’s revelation and His message, for it was upon him, may God’s blessings and peace be upon him, to wipe out what was accumulated on the previous messages of alteration and distortion, and the absurdities that ignorance introduced to them that no sane person could count on. ”This is what the Prophet, may God’s blessings and peace be upon him, did.

“And since the year 700 AD, the radiance of the Arab-Islamic civilization began to extend from the eastern Mediterranean to Persia in the east and Spain in the west. A large part of the old science was rediscovered, and new discoveries were recorded in mathematics, chemistry, physics and other sciences, and in this field as in others, the Arabs were teachers of Europe, So they contributed to the renaissance of science on this continent ”.

Reading is the first teachings of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace

Nasri Sahlab says: “The first clear verses  were that wonderful call to knowledge, to science through reading … ( Read ) .. And this saying of God was not only for Muhammad, may God’s blessings and peace be upon him, but for all people, to clarify to them from the first step, but rather From the first word, Islam came to erase ignorance and spread science and knowledge. ”

This is also praised by Wagner, where he says: “… Islam is the religion of knowledge, and it is sufficient that the first verse in the Qur’an was revealed to Muhammad, may God’s blessings and peace be upon him, saying: (Read), and this is a unique trend that is difficult to find in the history of churches and other religions, That is why you find that I have reached through Islamic studies and what I have read in the Book of God Almighty, which does not leave uncounted smallest or the greatest thing, and which falsehood does not come from the front nor from behind it, and I reached what I want for myself in terms of stability and safety !! ”

Respect for the mind

Leon shows that one of the masterpieces of the Prophet’s approach to science and knowledge is that it respects reason , and that Islam “never demands its followers to abolish this vital divine talent, as it is in contrast to other religions that force their followers to accept certain principles without thinking or free questioning, Rather, these principles are imposed on the authority of the Church. As for Islam, it loves to search and inquire and calls on its followers to study, excavate and look before believing .. Islam supports the wisdom that says: prove the correctness of everything and then clings to the good, and this is not strange, since wisdom is the lost of the believer that he takes wherever he finds it. He is the person most deserving of it. Thus, Islam is the religion of reason and logic .. Islam is the truth, its weapon is knowledge, and its archenemy is ignorance. ”

The famous thinker Auguste Comte speaks about this point and about Islam’s ability to deal and contain all human minds, philosophies and ideas .. He expressed this by saying: “The genius of Islam and its spiritual capacity do not contradict the mind at all, as is the case in other religions, yet they do not contradict the set philosophy itself; Because Islam is basically compatible with the reality of mankind, every human being, with his simple belief and useful practical rituals. ”

The great Historian Seidio says in a wonderful comparison: “The Islamic community has not witnessed what Europe has witnessed in terms of fossilizing reason, paralyzing thinking, arrogance of spirit, and fighting science and scholars. History states that thirty-two thousand scholars were burned alive !! There is no dispute that the history of Islam did not know this heinous oppression of freedom of thought. Rather, Muslims were alone in knowledge in those dark ages, and it did not happen that a religion was alone with authority and gave its opponents in belief all the reasons for freedom as Islam did. ”10

About a thousand years ago, when scholars in Europe were being burned alive – as Siddio said – the Andalusian Muslim scholar (Ibn Hazm) used to announce in his book (Al-fasl fil milal Wal ahwa’ wa An-nihal) about the sphericity of the Earth starting from the Holy Quran, and from the steady organization of prayer times around the Earth.

Although Europe in the era of the Church at that time considered it disbelief and delusion to say that the Earth is round; The Church’s teacher, Lactantius, asks disapprovingly: Is it possible for people to be mad to this extent and enters into their minds that countries and trees are hanging from the other side of the earth, and that people’s feet are above their heads ?! “. 

His admonishment for seeking knowledge

Well Durant says: “The hadiths indicate that the Prophet, may God’s blessings and peace be upon him, urged and admired the pursuit of knowledge, he, in this respect, differs from most religious reformers.” 

Honke says: “The Prophet [may God’s blessings and peace be upon him] has instructed every believer – man or woman – to seek science and knowledge, and he made this a religious duty, and he saw in his followers’ in-depth study of creatures and their wonders as a means of knowing the ability of the Creator, and he believed that knowledge enlightens the path of faith … and draw their attention to the sciences of all peoples, for science serves religion while knowledge comes from God and returns to Him, so it is their duty to reach it and obtain it regardless of its source, even if an unbeliever uttered knowledge, on the contrary, the Apostle Paul affirmed: (Did not the Lord describe the Worldly knowledge as foolishness) ?! ”.

It is a clever gesture from Hanke regarding the difference between the necessity to seek knowledge in the teachings of Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, and the prohibition of knowledge in the teachings of Paul, and those behind him are the Christian churches in the dark ages !!.

Just as Dr. Hunke compared elsewhere; She said: “The Prophet called for the aspiration to knowledge and the pursuit of finding it, and this led to the rush of Arabs with their families to schools, teaching and learning, while Westerners were boasting about their ignorance of reading and writing!”.

Then she says, Tzafsakan: “It was only when I entered the spiritual world of Islam through the Qur’an and Islamic writings that the vast difference between the teachings of Islam and many Eastern customs became apparent to me… I slowly felt how Islam attracts me, and its teachings addressed my mind and instinct, and it was one of the most important things that attracted me. Diligence in seeking knowledge, which is considered an obligation on every Muslim man and woman. ”

This is the matter that won the admiration and appreciation of Amir, who says: “At a time when the teachings and principles of other religions collapsed before the tyranny of science, worldly scholars at the present time looked to Islam seeking peace; Because his teachings are closer to science than any other religion. Indeed, Islam promotes knowledge, and it is a progressive religion that suits all climates and countries, as it is good for all ages. ”

Knowledge is among of the functions of his message

Atien Deneh says: “… Islam from the beginning, in its early days, began to fight superstitions and heresies, and it is the same work that science does to this day.” 

Thus, “the scientific achievements are completely in conformity with the principles of Islam; Because Islam is the religion of science ”, Fellowes says. 

Hence, Gustave Le Bon states: “Islam is among the most suitable  religions for discoveries of science.”

On this basis Jarudi defines Islam, and says: “Islam is that vision of God, the world and the human being that is assigned to science and the arts, to every human being and every society, a project to build a divine and human world that is indissoluble according to the two great dimensions, paradox and group, transcendence and the nation.” 

Rom Landau clarifies the relationship between religion and science in Islam, saying: “… in Islam, both religion and science did not turn their backs on the other and take an opposite path… No, and in fact the first was one of the main motives for the second.”

Rom Landau details the saying in this relationship by saying: “Islamic science has never been separated from religion, and the fact is that religion was its inspiration and its main driving force. In Islam, philosophy and science together came into existence not to replace the deity of religion (primitive), but to interpret it mentally, to establish The evidence for it and its glorification .. For five whole centuries, Muslims have succeeded in taking decisive steps in various sciences without turning their backs on religion .. and they found in that fusion an acceleration and success factor, not a hindrance and frustration. “

Hence, they reached a great amount in the fields of the human and natural sciences, and among them appeared the Muslims of Spain “who gave to the Latin West their precious gifts in the fields of science and philosophy .. Medicine, like mathematics, was among the prides of Arabic science and its solid pillars” , according to Sararnst Parker (1874-1960) ).

And these sciences that the Muslims excelled in during their golden ages – as Al-Dumili says – were “the link and continuity between the old civilization and the new world.”

Al-Domili warns of suspicion, saying: “We should not think that the Arabs did not add anything new to the science that they were guardians of, but rather, on the contrary.”

Regarding the message of Muslims in these sciences, “Ernst Banrath” says: They – that is, the Muslims – “did not destroy the cultural elements they found, but took care of them and exerted their efforts to digest them and then develop them, and we see here that the Arabs opened the door to getting to know Greek civilization through translators, In this way, culture developed under the protection of Islam in Arabic, which is an excellent medium for expressing higher ideas, which is not surpassed in this by one of the languages of the world, and I do not see me needing to mention the names of [Muslim] philosophers who opened new horizons to understand the secrets of nature and existence … There is no doubt that Islamic civilization rose in the Middle Ages to a height that other people did not pay attention to, and it is no secret that this ascension was the fruit of diligence in all aspects of culture and the application of scientific methods, while the European West was unable, at that time, to understand the culture and its development, as well as a Byzantine state that was frozen, and now we see how European powers wondered  from the beauty of Arab culture that extended from the borders of China and India to the Pyrenees. ”

The directions of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, in seeking science and knowledge

Here is a bunch of the directions of our great Prophet, may God’s blessings and peace be upon him, urging to seek knowledge, spread knowledge and cultures, and his order to eradicate illiteracy and superstitions:

Then he says: may the blessings and peace of God be upon him: Seeking knowledge is an obligation for every Muslim. ”

“… and everything seeks forgiveness for the seeker of knowledge, even whales in the sea.”

“God revealed to him, “ If anyone follows a path in search of knowledge, I shall make easy for him the road to paradise; and if I deprive anyone of his eyes, I shall guarantee paradise to him in return for them. Superiority in knowledge is better than superiority in worship, and the basis of the religion is abstinence.”

“No one went out of his house seeking knowledge except the angels laid their wings for him, in contentment with what he does, until he returns.”

“Whoever knows knowledge has a reward for whoever works with it, nothing will diminish from the worker’s wage.”

“What is attached to the believer from his deeds and good deeds after his death is knowledge he taught and published it, and a righteous child he left behind, or a Qur’an he bequeathed …”

On the authority of Safwan bin Assal Al-Muradi, he said: I came to the Prophet, may God’s blessings and peace be upon him, while he was in the mosque, leaning on a red garment, and I said to him: O Messenger of God, I came to seek knowledge. He said: “Welcome to the seeker of knowledge .. The seeker of knowledge is surrounded by angels with their wings, and then they ride one another until they reach the lower heaven from their love for what is sought.”

On the authority of Abu Umamah, he said: two Two men, one learned and the other devout, were mentioned to God’s messenger, who then said, “The superiority of the learned man over the devout man is like mine over the most contemptible among you,” adding, “God, His angels, the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth, even the ant in its hole and even the fish invoke blessings on him who teaches men what is good.”

Ibn Abbas said: People among the prisoners of the day of Badr had no redemption, so the Messenger of God, may God’s blessings and peace be upon him, made their redemption to teach the children of the Ansar to write .. Thus, the prisoners began to teach the boys of Medina to read and write, and whoever teaches ten of the boys will redeem himself. Acceptance of the Prophet, may the blessings and peace of God be upon him,  teaching how to read and write instead of redemption fee at the time when they were most in need of money shows us the superiority of Islam’s view to science and knowledge and eradication of illiteracy.

Finally ..

The directives of the Prophet, may God’s blessings and peace be upon him, in science and knowledge were wonderful images and sublime teachings, before which a discerning rational person would pause in reverence and veneration, especially this great manifestation of mercy from the Prophet, may God’s blessings and peace be upon him, namely, the care for science and knowledge .. And that is a mercy for human beings. A great leader and a noble prophet, which prompted “Labib Riyashi” to raise his hat in appreciation of these teachings, saying: “Truly, Muhammad, you are indeed the world first (Superman) 46, the messenger of culture and science, the messenger of guidance and sacrifice, the messenger of new philosophy, the messenger of the new humanity.”

He changed delusion with guidance, ignorance with knowledge, and civil with barbarism.

“God taught him knowledge and wisdom, so we had to listen to him first of all!”