look now all science is theory, a hypothesis verified by experimental observations made under stringent constraints. There are no facts except for the empirical measurements made. Therefore the theory works only under certain conditions/axioms/constants/assumptions etc.
Now just because it works, doesn't mean the theory is fact. It may be true or it may not be true. But because it works, we can use science to help us in our daily activities. As technology improves, better, accurate observations are made and the theory improves or 'evolves'. Perhaps we may get closer to the truth with time although that in itself cannot be verified.
now science itself doesnt prove anything. Actually it cannot prove anything because it is an explanation of observed data. Proofs occur in mathematics/logic only like you can prove that tanA = sinA/cosA.
science cannot prove that the sun will come out from the east tomoro or that when i open the front door, there will be a sky above and it will be colored blue etc. in that sense science is rather narrow in it's approach as it only works for a limited number of things in certain aspects under certain conditions.
so when we say science = only fact and rest is false, the underlying assumption is
1. Only that which can be empirically demonstrated is fact
The problem with believing science as fact and leaving everything else is that 1. cannot be empirically demonstrated.
Now evolution does occur, just like sun rises from the east and the sky is there etc are all empirical observations or facts.
Science offers one perception of reality, scientists believe in the theory which explains these observations.
A muslim believes that all these things occur because Allah wills. We have the attributes of Allah that explain those occurrences.
We may study science because it has many applications and it can make life easy for us. but to start believing man made stories as fact just because they 'work under certain conditions' is rather naive. So i leave you with a poem i read in 6th grade elocution contest. The poem, to me sums up the fallacy of empirical sciences in general and helps me understand how hopeless i am in terms of knowledge.
The blind men and the elephant
It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.
The First approach'd the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
"God bless me! but the Elephant
Is very like a wall!"
The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried, -"Ho! what have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me 'tis mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a spear!"
The Third approached the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a snake!"
The Fourth reached out his eager hand,
And felt about the knee.
"What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain," quoth he,
"'Tis clear enough the Elephant
Is very like a tree!"
The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: "E'en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant
Is very like a fan!"
The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Then, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a rope!"
And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!
The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.
Stephen Hawking
