Astronomy in Islamic civilization developed from a discipline serving religious needs into an increasingly independent science, according to the source. Muslim thinkers including Ibn Sina, Imam Ghazali, Nasir al-Din Tusi, al-Jurjani and Ali Qushji played important roles in this intellectual shift. Mathematical and astronomical centers in Maragha and Samarkand strengthened the field through observation, calculation and mathematical modelling.

The discipline had practical importance for determining prayer times, the direction of qibla, the start of Ramadan and the Islamic calendar. Its study therefore extended beyond philosophical and courtly discussion to mosques and madrasas. Ibn Sina distinguished astronomy from astrology and sought to ground it in observation and mathematical proof, although his work remained connected to Aristotelian ideas of the universe and nature.

Ghazali and Adud al-Din al-Iji recognized astronomy's mathematical and practical value but questioned its ability to determine ultimate reality. Al-Jurjani argued that astronomical models could relate to reality, while Tusi pursued stronger mathematical foundations. Ali Qushji advanced the separation of astronomy from Aristotelian physics and metaphysics, emphasizing observation, insight and mathematics as routes to reliable knowledge of nature.