Islam and the Study of

Nature
Cosmological Sciences and the Islamic Revelation
Background:

In Traditional Civilization’s
 Cosmological Sciences related to revelations

 Cosmological sciences integrate diverse phenomena of

Nature into conceptual schemes

 Cosmology repeats the process of traditional art

Aristotelian Theory of Hylomorphism
 Relation between revelation and people

Civilizations Come into being by:

1) Form
2) Matter
Revelation spoken in the language of people
Aim of Study of Nature in Traditional
Civilizations:
 For the sake of utility

 Discovering the qualities useful to daily needs of society

 Integrating cosmic existence into pervasive rational

system
Sufi Master Aziz-al-Nasafi:
 Compares natures to Quran

 Each Genus in nature to Surah

 Each Species to Verse

Common element in ancient and
medieval cosmological sciences:
 Unicity of nature ( Found in all civilizations)

Unity of Divine Principle:

 important in Islam
Islam:
 Revealed in Arabic Language

 to the people of the stock of Semitic nomads

 Revelation in the form of sacred book Holy Quran

Emphasis in Quran:

1) Close relation between man and the rest of creation

2) Human reason (intellectual and rationalizing ability)

Importance of Arabic language:

 vehicle of revelation and most of the Muslim Sciences

 Vehicle for the expression of the most esoteric forms of

knowledge
 Instrument for scientific discourse

 Rich vocabulary

 Easy to translate
Term Haqq & Khalq:

 This term by Muslim Authors

 To express relation and contrast between Creator and

the world
Sunni School of Ash ‘arite theology:

Emphasized on
 Absolute transcendence of God with respect to
the world

Denied
 Horizontal causality

 God is considered as a direct cause of all things

The study of cosmological sciences in
Islamic history:
Abbasid caliphate:
 translations of Greek, Syriac, Pahlavi and Sanskrit
sources on various sciences become available in Arabic

Fourth Century:
 Scientists played an important role in the creation of
1) Islamic arts
2) Science
3) Particular interest in the study of cosmological
sciences
 Fifth Century:

 Muslim arts and sciences continue to flourish

Famous Figures of Fifth century:

1) Ibn al- Haitham
2) Ali ibn Isa
3) Umer Khayyum
Hermetic Sciences:

 were early integrated into Shi'ite perspective

 Jabir ibn Hayyan most celebrated of all Muslims
alchemists

 Shi’ites – the proponents of Synthetic physics

Sunni World:

 did not concern to Hermeticism or peripatetic

philosophy

 philosophical methods were adopted to the

theological ends
Opposition to the Sunni doctors of law
to philosophy:
 During 4th/11th and 5th/12th centuries

 After the destruction of Mu’tazilities and the

triumph of Ash ‘arite
Findings:
After brief survey of history of Muslim Lands

 during 4th/11th and 5th/12th centuries

 Authority of Sunni Government had weakened

 Shi’ites princes were ruling over large segment
 Greater attention paid to arts and science with the
rise of Shi’ites
The Intellectual dimensions in Islam and
the class of Seekers of knowledge:
 Most essential division in Islam
 Vertical hierarchy
1) Sacred Law – Shari’ah
2) The way- Tariqah
3) the truth- Haqiiqah
Division of seekers of knowledge:

1) The theologians

2) The philosophers and metaphysicians

3) The Isma'ili's and Ta'limiyun

4) The people of tasawwuf

Three most important authors of
Islamic art and science:
1) Ikhwan al-Safa

2) Al-Biruni

3) Ibn-Sina
 Conclusion:

 book is a general introduction to the Islamic cosmological

sciences