Islam Creator of the Modern Age
2. Holding Sacred that which is not Sacred
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experiment, observation and calculation originally
brought into being by the Muslims.
This spirit of enquiry prevailed until the twelfth
century, and was transmitted to Europe through the
Arabs. Modern science is, indeed, the greatest
legacy of the Islamic civilization.
THE GIFT OF ISLAM
The two most important contributions of Islam in
this connection were, firstly, to remove any mental
block which could be an obstacle to progress, and
secondly, to launch the new age of progress on a
practical basis.
Removing the mental block meant displacing things
from their pedestals of holiness. This task—
undoubtedly the most difficult—was successfully
performed during the period of the Prophet and the
pious Caliphs who succeeded him.
Although a practical beginning had been made in
the first phase of Islam, its systematic development
took place during the Abbasid era with the
establishment of the Bayt-al-Hikmah in 832. This
