Islam encouragesscience (studying the physical and natural world through observation and experiment) but opposes scientism(the belief that methods of natural scienceform the only proper elements in any philosophical or other inquiry). The Islamic stance on science has always been of instrumentalism(utilising science for its benefit), not realism (belief that science ultimately explains reality).The Qur’an constantly encourages mankind to discover and ponder about creation, and for this reasonthe Islamic Golden Age made great advances in astronomy, mathematics, optics, chemistry, biology, psychology and more.

The scientific methodcontains the problem of induction (future evidence can change previously held theories), and underdetermination (multiple theories can risefrom the same evidence). Though the scientific method helps us learn about the world and utilise resources, there is no certainty in it from an epistemic perspective (e.g. Newtonian mechanics). Rationality and logic are human endeavours, and humans are prone to subjectivity and error by nature.Revelation from an All-Knowing God is the only possible method of reaching certainty, as God has the full picture and we only have a pixel.

Hasan Ibnal-Haytham was an Arabmathematician, astronomer, and physicist of the Islamic Golden Age.Sometimes called ‘the father of optics’, he made great contributions to optics and visual perception.He was also an early proponent of the concept that a hypothesis must be proved by experiments based on confirmable procedures or mathematical evidence, hence understanding the scientific method five centuries before Renaissance scientists.

Islam accepts the Qur’an as the word of God and ultimate truth. Thus,Islam is compatible with accurate scientific evidence(e.g. genetic mutations, fossil records) as the source is One, but not with the theory of Darwinian’s evolution which contains the problem of induction and under-determination as with any theory(though it may serve as the bestscientific explanation of human origin that we havecurrently).Islam has no problem with the process of evolution in and of itself, however the Islamic stance of man being created instantaneously has greater epistemic weight than Darwinian theory. It is also a more rational explanation of the difference between man and animal in morality, language and civilisations.

It is important to note the Qur’an is primarily book of guidance, not a book of science. However, there are verses in the Qur’an [51:47] which some scholars have interpreted to mean that the universe is expanding, and other verses [21:33] that have been interpreted as the celestial bodies are in an orbit. The Qur’an makes no claim of Young Earth Creationism.