THE QUR’AN AND SCIENCE DIALOGUE IN INDIA

Researchers from the Imam Bukhari International Scientific Research Center are also participating in the Third International Conference on “The Qur’an and Science”, currently being held in New Delhi, India.

According to the Center’s press service, the conference has brought together Qur’anic scholars, researchers, and specialists from nearly thirty countries, including Sweden, Iran, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, Kuwait, and Nepal.

In his remarks at the opening of the conference, Otabek Muhammadiyev, Deputy Director of the Imam Bukhari International Scientific Research Center, outlined the religious and educational reforms being implemented in Uzbekistan. He highlighted the activities of the Imam Bukhari, Imam Maturidi, and Imam Tirmidhi International Research Centers, as well as the Center of Islamic Civilization in Uzbekistan, all established at the initiative of the President. He also provided information on the “Umrah Plus” pilgrimage tourism program currently being developed.

Mr. Muhammadiyev further emphasized the contemporary relevance of the rich exegetical heritage produced by the scholars of Mawarannahr, noting that the Center has, for the first time, translated Tafsir al-Samarqandi and Imam Maturidi’s Ta’wilat al-Qur’an into the Uzbek language. He underlined that these works constitute important sources for the formation of Sunni creed and a balanced, moderate Islamic worldview.

The conference promotes interdisciplinary approaches that, while recognizing the Holy Qur’an as a supreme spiritual and intellectual source, seek to examine the natural, humanitarian, social, medical, engineering, and technological sciences from the perspective of divine teachings.

During the discussions, instances of interpreting and reinterpreting the verses of the Holy Qur’an on the basis of subjective views are being subjected to critical analysis. In particular, the scientifically unfounded ideas of the so-called “Qur’anist” trends, which have emerged in recent years under the slogan “Qur’an alone” and seek to deny the Sunnah, as well as their contradictions with the established system of Islamic knowledge, were highlighted.

Participants referred to the firm positions of eminent scholars such as Ibn Hazm, Imam al-Shafi‘i, Imam al-Suyuti, Imam al-Shawkani, and Imam al-Zahabi regarding the binding authority of the Sunnah, and provided a scholarly explanation of the intrinsic relationship between the Qur’an, the Sunnah, and ijma‘ within the Islamic sciences. They noted that rejecting the Sunnah leads to serious distortions not only in ritual practice but also in matters of creed and ethics, emphasizing the necessity of responding to such ideas through scholarly and educational means. It is also envisaged that researchers from the Imam Bukhari International Scientific Research Center will present papers in the conference sessions devoted to the natural sciences, humanities, social sciences, medicine and healthcare, engineering and technology, as well as the methodology of the Qur’an and science.

Imam Bukhari International scientific Research Center
Press Service