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March 17, 2025
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March 17, 2025
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Abstract

Gone are the days when multidisciplinary scholars explored a wide range of subjects. The Islamic golden age gave birth to many polymaths, where one scholar would have a depth of knowledge in theology, philosophy, medicine, astrophysics, mathematics, music, optics, astrology, Alchemy, and other disciplines simultaneously. In our contemporary world, the practice has been replaced with fragmentation of knowledge where one scholar specializes in a tiny aspect of a particular discipline. These very scholars are expected to address the challenges of the community, yet the same problems to be addressed are inter-related. For Muslim scholars to offer guidance or legal rulings, they must be well conversant with the emerging trends in society, culture, science, and technological advancement. In this day and age, finding such a scholar in the current Muslim society is quite challenging, implying that rigorous consultations must be made with other experts in other fields before issuing verdicts and guidance to the community. In this paper, analysis is made on the contributions of classical Muslim polymaths and how they successfully juggled a variety of disciplines and were able to guide society with their broad and deep knowledge banks. In addition, in this position paper, the argument is that for contemporary Muslim scholars to solve the challenges of the 21st century, a multidisciplinary approach towards knowledge and skills acquisition as well as application must be embraced. The researcher employed a qualitative literature review design; therefore, the study was purely qualitative and desk research. Numerous issues have been identified, for instance, a decline in Islamic intellectual thought and contribution to the fabric of knowledge in the contemporary world, promotion of taqlid (blind following) while overlooking the relevance of logic and reasoning (tadabbur and tafakkur), knowledge fragmentation, and over-emphasizing specialization. Several recommendations have been made such as the need for the revival of Muslim polymaths through rigorous training and restructuring the education system in the Muslim world, a multidisciplinary approach to teaching and learning as well as knowledge integration; re-thinking and revival of ijitihad and blending it with contemporary methods of knowledge creation with modern scientific techniques such as using demonstration, testing, observation and empirical protocols of science. Merging rational and speculative thinking techniques with the established Islamic principles would produce better Muslim scholars who are competent enough to tackle the emerging issues and challenges of the contemporary Islamic world

Keywords

Polymaths Multidisciplinary knowledge Integration Islamic golden age Islamic thought Islamic civilization

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The Contribution Of Muslim Scholars Towards Science, Technology And Knowledge: A Historical Perspective. (2025). Journal of Islamic Studies and Arabic Language , 3(2), 85-104. https://doi.org/10.53449/cndaz942
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How to Cite

The Contribution Of Muslim Scholars Towards Science, Technology And Knowledge: A Historical Perspective. (2025). Journal of Islamic Studies and Arabic Language , 3(2), 85-104. https://doi.org/10.53449/cndaz942

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