THE INTEGRATION OF ISLAM AND MODERN SCIENCES: PROBLEMS AND THOUGHTS FROM KALĀM PERSPECTIVES

Abstract

The project of integrating modern science with Islam has emerged as a significant intellectual endeavor over the past several decades, attracting substantial scholarly attention across various disciplines. While some Muslim scholars have framed this project under the banner of the Islamization of Knowledge (IOK), others have advanced alternative models such as "Islamic science" or theistic interpretations of scientific findings. Despite the noble objectives of demonstrating compatibility and revitalizing Islamic intellectual heritage, contemporary attempts at harmonization -particularly concerning biological evolution- raise profound theological, epistemological, and hermeneutical challenges that have yet to be adequately addressed. This study critically examines the theological implications of contemporary integrative models from the perspective of Ashʿarī kalām, focusing on the works of leading proponents such as Nidhal Guessoum, David Solomon Jalajel, and Shoaib Ahmed Malik. Employing a qualitative content analysis methodology, the article analyzes classical theological and juridical texts alongside contemporary scholarship to identify and evaluate the underlying assumptions and methodological commitments of these integrative approaches. The study identifies three major theological problems arising from contemporary harmonization efforts: (i) the problem of the authority of revelation (waḥy), wherein speculative scientific claims are given precedence over definitive scriptural texts in cases of apparent conflict; (ii) the problem of hermeneutic approach, where figurative interpretation (taʾwīl) is applied to explicit verses (nuṣūṣ) concerning Prophet Adam and the origin of humanity without satisfying the rigorous conditions established in uṣūl al-fiqh; and (iii) the problem of exception in scientific interpretation, exemplified by the methodological arbitrariness of "Adamic exceptionalism," which posits a miraculous exception to evolutionary processes for Prophet Adam while failing to provide a consistent theological rationale. The study argues that these problems stem from a fundamental failure to ground integrative models in the epistemic and doctrinal foundations of traditional Islamic sciences, resulting in proposals that are theologically problematic and epistemologically inconsistent. The article concludes by urging for the development of a more rigorous and coherent framework for reconciling Islam and modern science, one that is firmly grounded in the principles of kalām, uṣūl al-fiqh, manṭiq, uṣūl al-tafsīr, ʿulūm al-ḥadīth, and Arabic linguistics. Such a framework, it is argued, is essential for achieving a genuinely non-problematic reconciliation that preserves the integrity of Islamic theology while engaging constructively with contemporary scientific knowledge, thereby fostering a more intellectually robust and theologically faithful engagement between the two domains.