When it comes to the modern world and its obsession with science, Muslims tend to split into a few camps. Some are alarmed, arguing that science is a dangerous gamble. Each technological breakthrough—be it AI, nanotechnology, or genetic engineering—is another roll of the dice. And how many times can you roll before the dice turn against you? Thinkers like the Iranian historian of science in Washington saw this coming decades ago. For him, modern science, cut loose from divine guidance, is a hubristic experiment destined to end in catastrophe. A world hurtling forward, but at what cost?

Then there’s the poet’s critique. Take Nâzım Hikmet of Turkey—bitterly scathing about Apollo 11’s so-called triumph. For him, space exploration is not liberation but arrogance—a child with a plastic mac and a toy helmet boasting of cosmic conquests. His vision? True greatness lies in going inward, not upward, in transcending the limits of time and space spiritually, not mechanically.

On the other side of the spectrum, we have the Bucailleists, after the French doctor Maurice Bucaille. His book The Bible, the Qur’an, and Science remains a bestseller, and for many, it’s proof of Islam’s scientific credibility. His argument? The Qur’an aligns with modern discoveries in cosmology and embryology in ways no other scripture does. This has fueled a whole genre of apologetics, eagerly embraced by figures like Adnan Oktar. But Bucailleism has its critics, even among Muslims. Some see it as reductionist—a distraction from the Qur’an’s true purpose.

Scholars like Algerian astrophysicist Nidhal Guessoum or Adrian Chauvet prefer a subtler approach. Their position? Let scientists do their work unhindered by theology, and let faith come in later to interpret, to provide context. Religion, in this view, is not about competing with science but offering the moral and existential framework that science alone cannot.

Then there’s the critique of Western materialism itself. Modern science, for all its brilliance, often feels reductive, ignoring the artistic, moral, and spiritual dimensions of life. As another Iranian thinker put it, the scientific revolution quenched our thirst for the infinite with a shallow, finite answer. And now, as existential risks multiply—climate change, AI, nuclear weapons—we’re seeing the cracks in the system.

Modernity, it seems, is a gamble. And Muslims, while acknowledging the power and promise of science, remain deeply aware of the dangers of hubris. For some, the solution is a wholesale rejection of modernity; for others, it’s about striking a balance—embracing the insights of science while keeping it grounded in ethical, spiritual, and divine principles.

Shaykh Abdul Hakim Murad