Islam Creator of the Modern Age
2. Holding Sacred that which is not Sacred
~ 90 ~
investigations. He devoted his whole life to
studying the construction of the earth and its rocks,
which showed that the earth in its present form has
evolved over millions of years.
Charles
Lyell’s
observations
subsequently
confirmed Hutton’s theory. The first volume of his
renowned book,
Principles of Geology,
was first
published in 1830. This book was to a great extent
responsible for the disappearance of the biblical
time-scale from all serious discussion. “Indeed,
Lyell’s books were largely responsible for
convincing the world at large that the Bible could be
wrong, at any rate in some respects—a hitherto
unthinkable thought.”
41
Concepts of the kind enshrined in the Bible acted as
barriers to the scientific progress of Europe. Anyone
who dared to present any theory other than those
approved of by the Church risked being severely
chastised on the grounds that his theory was
sacrilegious. But, in Islam, such unreal concepts had
never gained currency. That is why no religious
opposition presented itself when scientific research
began in Islamic Spain.
