no flaws in it? And the earth- We have spread it out, and set thereon mountains standing firm, and produced therein every kind of beautiful growth (in pairs)-To be observed and commemorated by every devotee turning (to God). (Qur’an, 50: 6-8)
In the Qur’an, God also encourages the study of botany:
It is He Who sends down water from the sky from which We bring forth growth of every kind, and from that We bring forth the green shoots and from them We bring forth close-packed seeds, and from the spathes of the date palm date clusters hanging down, and gardens of grapes and olives and pomegranates, both similar and dissimilar. Look at their fruits as they bear fruit and ripen. There are Signs in that for people who believe. (Qur’an, 6:99)
In another verse of the Qur’an, God draws attention to zoology:
You have a lesson in livestock… (Qur’an, 16:66)
Here is a Qur’anic verse about the sciences of archaeology and anthropology:
Have they not traveled in the earth and seen the final fate of those before them? (Qur’an, 30: 9)
In another verse of the Qur’an, God draws attention to the proof of God in a person’s own body and spirit:
There are certainly Signs in the earth for people with certainty; and in yourselves as well. Do you not then see? (Qur’an, 51: 20-21)
As we can see, God recommends all the sciences to Muslims in the Qur’an. Because of this the growth of Islam in history meant at the same time the growth of scientific knowledge.
The Scientific Renaissance of the Middle East
Muslim scholars in Baghdat, the world’s
scientific capital of the