INVESTIGATING THE UNDISPUTED SCIENTIFIC REALISM IN THE ISLAM-MODERN SCIENCE DISCOURSE

Abstract

In the Islam and science discourse, the philosophical discussion on the nature and reality of scientific knowledge is mostly missing. Almost the whole discourse sustains its validity and relevance from a strong scientific realist stance that is the de facto position within this discourse. However, going by the Sunnī epistemological standards, since only conclusive or certain knowledge (Wilm qat'ī or yaqīnī) counts as proof (burhān) in Sunnī theology (kalām), scientific knowledge due to its layers of theoretical presuppositions, is probable and limited; a claim also substantiated by the history and philosophy of science. Scientific propositions cannot be beneficial for theological pursuit such as knowing and appreciating divine attributes or used as a basis for either affirming or questioning and reinterpreting scriptures. In the current Muslim discourse on Islam and modern science, uncritical, unacknowledged, and undefended acceptance of scientific realism has led to the unwarranted use of modern scientific knowledge for such theological and religious purposes.