Signs in the Heavens: A Muslim Astronomer's Perspective on Religion and Science

by Imad-Ad-Dean Ahmad

A popular subject of discussion in the modern West is the relationship between religion and science. Are they inherently incompatible or can they be reconciled? In the classical Islamic civilization science and religion were considered allies against paganism and superstition. Reconciliation was not an issue between two subjects. This book advances the thesis that the myth of an incompatibility between religion and science is a myth of Western civilization, born out of its unique history. In this book, the author presents the attitudes towards science put forward in the Qur'an and the Prophetic traditions and by the great Muslim scholars of the classical era. Besides reviewing some of the scientific achievements of the golden era of Islamic civilization and some important achievements in astronomy, the book narrates as to how the methodology of modern science was developed in the Islamic classical era and how advancements in science by the Muslims were the natural outgrowth of the Qur'anic foundations of Islam. This edition is the product of a research grant from the Templeton Foundation, and has benefited from the recommendations of three distinguished scientists who have been involved in the study of the history of science. Dr. Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad, a Palestinian-American Muslim, graduated cum laude from Harvard in 1970 and in 1975 obtained a Ph. D. in astronomy and astrophysics from the University of Arizona. Dr. Ahmad has done postdoctoral work in astronomy at Harvard, the University of Maryland, Goddard Space Flight Center and for private firms and now teaches courses in Religion, Science and Freedom at the University of Maryland. Since 1993 he has been the president of the Minaret of Freedom Institute, an Islamic think tank in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Ahmad is author of A Uniform Islamic Calendar for the Western Hemisphere, editor of Proceedings of the International Institute of Islamic Thought's 1987 conference on the Islamic lunar calendar, editor of Islam and the Discovery of Freedom by Rose Wilder Lane, and co-editor with Ahmad Yousef of Islam and the A Dialog.

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Will Waller · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was one of the books assigned to me for a class on Islam and its History. As I read it, I found myself scratching my head why this book would be assigned for a history class. Now, to the author’s credit, it does contain some history – although it jumps from topic to topic with rabbit chases galore – the history it does contain is uninteresting to me. Academic history, especially the history of science, bores me because it doesn’t get to the heart of the search for deeper truths, something that piques my interest much more. Do we search because of fame, of money, because we feel led to do so by a god or Higher Power? That’s much more intriguing than detailing which astrophysicist discovered the rotational elements that lead to the earth’s gravitational pull. Obviously, not my vernacular!

The writing in this book is awful and the typos are glaring and take away from the text (my favorite: in describing the eyes, the author calls the person’s vision his “site”). The book’s biggest mistake is that it attempts to be too many things: historical, scientific, modern, sociological. The author doesn’t hold it all together! And to bring it all together, the author is my professor, making criticism unwanted and unwise. Oh well. Another book read that I wouldn’t have picked up. I guess it has that going for it.