Islam Creator of the Modern Age
3. Muslim Contribution to Science
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that therein dwelt a mysterious spirit, which caused
the water to move, and made it useful or harmful.
64
The river Skamandros in ancient Greece evidently
was so personified, according to Aeshines, a fourth
century B.C. Greek orator. Girls bathed in it before
marrying and said: “Skamandros, accept my
virginity.” Magical rites in which water serves as a
substitute for semen or the fertility of men are
numerous.
65
Because rivers were held to be sacred in ancient
times (even to this day, some are still held sacred)
people began to worship them and offer up
sacrifices to them. It was this concept of holiness
that hindered man in his conquest of nature. People
saw rivers in the form of deities rather than in the
form of physical objects to be exploited by common
methods. That is why the use of river water in
agriculture remained limited in antiquity. It is
astonishing that the history of irrigation had its
beginnings in relatively modern times.
With the onset of the Islamic revolution based on
monotheism, it was revealed to man that the river
was a creature and not a creator, it was a servant
