As the rst of the three-volume work on natural science for secondary school students, volume one serves as the foundation for the subsequent volumes. The introduction and CHAPTER 1 lay the qur’anic worldview as the foundational premise in relation to the study and pursuit of natural science. It then embarks on explaining the nature of the discipline and how a scienti c experience from a scientist is shared with and assessed by other scientists in the same eld, which eventually renders the initial scienti c experience into knowledge.

This is followed by CHAPTER 2 whose theme “man, matter and living things” opens with the creation of “man”, before delving into cells as units of life. The variety and classi cation of living things as well as microorganisms and infectious diseases are explored, ahead of a systematic discussion on matter, chemical formulae and equations, which is the key in the understanding of chemistry and its impacts on our daily life. The classi cation of elements as portrayed in the periodic table wraps up this chapter, with emphasis on the active order, proportion and sustenance by Allah the most gracious inherent in the universal kingdom of his creations.