The Cosmos as the Created Book and its Implications for the Orientation of Science

Based on the conception of the Cosmos as a grand, created Book consisting of Divine Signs, a conception made possible by the linguistic-conceptual system of the Islamized Arabic, this article deliberates on the orientation of science in Islam by elaborating on two theoretical implications of such a conception: one being the avoidance of secularization as a philosophical program, the most fundamental component of which is the disenchantment of nature; and the other being the appropriation of the tafsir-ta'wil method of reading the signs and symbols of the Qur'an into science.

Keywords: Islamic world view; natural sciences; philosophy of science; cosmos; nature; universe; secularization; cosmos as a sign of the Creator; al-Qur'an; ayat; 'ilm; tafsir; ta'wil; muhkamat; mutashabihat.

Journal of Islam & Science, Vol. 6 (Summer 2008) No. 1

Mohd Zaidi b. Ismail​

Mohd Zaidi bin Ismail is currently the Deputy Director-General of the Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (IKIM)