However...

However, if the apparent meaning of a verse is consistent with an established fact, we interpret this verse with the help of that fact.15 If we adapt the Qur’an to philosophical schools or sciences of a period, we reach the point where, in a period of the dominance of positivism, we find a Muslim scholar trying to extract this philosophy from the Qur’an, considering it to be the basis of Qur’anic wisdom,16 and disregarding the fact that this outlook leaves no room for metaphysics or any transcendent being.

Yet we would say that although the Qur’an is not a scientific encyclopedia, there is an important message in the verses involving natural phenomena, and Muslim scientists should focus their attention on that message rather than contenting themselves with the miraculous aspects of the Qur’an in the scientific domain or its consistency with contemporary science. Previous…