Islam Rediscovered
20. The Revolutionary Role of Islam
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things held sacred were relegated to the status of
mere creatures. They were there to be harnessed by
man and not for man to be enslaved by them. The
sun was held to be a god and worshipped in ancient
times; the man of today is converting the sun into
solar energy. Ancient man held the moon sacred;
modern man has set his foot on it. Ancient man had
deified the river; modern man has converted rivers
into steam power, etc.
In this way, it has happened for the first time in
human history that the phenomena of nature,
looked upon by ancient man with reverence, have
now become objects of investigation. In other
words, Islam started the process of scientific
enquiry. The Qur’an repeatedly enjoins man to
reflect on the objects of the universe. This is no
simple matter. The act of pondering over the nature
of the phenomena of the universe has been
accorded the status of worship in Islam. As a result
of this thinking, for the first time in known history,
all things in the universe have been subjected to
research and investigation.
