Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Politics in two Schools

Imam Ali (a.s.) took over the affairs of Muslims on Dhil Hajja 18, 35 AH / June 17, 656 CE, and was martyred in his prayer niche on Ramadan 21, 40 AH/ January 29, 661 CE. Hence, the reign of his holiness lasted only four years, nine months, and three days. Issues in relation to this period of his life are as follows:

1. How the Imam (a.s.) attained power; dimensions of 'Alawi reformation and its fundamentals.

2. Various kinds of resistance against 'Alawi policies; wars and clashes during his holiness' short period of rule.

4. Administrators of Ali (a.s.)'s government and his companions.

5. Plot for assassination of Imam Ali (a.s.), and his martyrdom.

Of the above mentioned topics, "'Alawi Policies in hukuma (rulership)" is of utmost importance and specific status due to its instructive and functional significance in the present era, and its guiding doctrine for rulers, particularly for the Islamic Republic of Iran's statesmen.

We believe that if "Politics" in 'Alawi and Umayyad schools is rightfully defined and the Imam's political principles in governing are, however briefly, delineated, objections that are made, and perhaps even now are manifested in some peoples' words and writings, on his political insight will be responded and his policies will be rightly and steadfastly defended.

Political insight, from the viewpoints of Imam Ali, is one of the most crucial requirements of leadership. The Imam not only considers "understanding politics" and having correct appreciation of it as the secret of durability of a government, but also stresses that "governing a state is the very politics".1

He asserts that political incapability is a malady that threatens the statesmen's authority with downfall. In the Imam's view, rulers who do not possess acute and efficient political insight will not stay long in office. Eventually, incorrect policies, according to 'Alawi doctrines, are indicative of the decline of governments and downfall of states.2

Thus, according to 'Alawi school, ruling a community on the basis of Islamic principles would be practicable solely through the right statesmanship of the rulers. In other words, statesmanship is one of the general principles of management, equally important in various doctrines. The type of attitude and how politics is interpreted, appreciated, and perceived is what distinguishes Islam in this respect from other doctrines, outshines 'Alawi policies above other policies, and sets it against Umayyad policies.

Umayyad Policies

In Umayyad ideology, politics is defined as "recognizing the goal and attaining it through every possible means". The world politicians of the past and present seem to have had no perception beyond this. In reality, politics in Umayyad ideology falls in the same category of meaning as political trends of the governments that are not based on value foundations and are not prompted by the criterion for realizing truth and false that would guide them in their interactions and manners. Describing a feature of politicians, Oswald Spengler said: "a politician by nature has nothing to do with the truth or falsehood of things."

Moreover, Bertrand Russell has perceived political motives and behavioral roots of man in politics as such and stated:

"Political motives in most people include profiteering, selfishness, competition and love of power. For instance, in politics, all human actions originate from the above traits. A political leader who can convince people that he would be able to satisfy these needs, would also be able to subjugate people in such a way that they get to believe that two plus two equals five, or his authority has come down to him right from God.

The political leader who neglects these basic motives is usually deprived of the support of the masses. Psychology of public dynamics is the most basic part of successful political leader's education. Most political leaders achieve their posts by convincing people that they have humanitarian ideals. It is easily understood that such belief will be welcome as it is emotionally appealing. Fettering people, public lectures and sermons, illegal punishments, and wars are procedures of development of emotions. I think keeping people in emotions provides the followers of illogical thinking with a better chance to deceive them and make benefit from them."3

What is brought up in this analysis about political leaders of communities is consistent with the interpretation made of politics by Umayyad statesmen. Mu'awiya is the founder of this approach to politics in Islamic history. On this basic, and relying on the slogan "Politics is barren" in order to snatch power and safeguard the acquired power, he was ready to go to any extremes and use any hideous means to this end.

'Alawi Politics

Politics, in Ali (a.s.)'s view, is unfaltering administration of the community based on Divine criteria, and a truth - oriented movement. He is quoted as saying:

Administering a state is politics.4

He never approved of doing anything for achieving power and retaining it. On the contrary, he never considered resorting to illegitimate means as permissible, even to the cost of losing power.

According to 'Alawi doctrine, politics is the recognizing and employing legal instruments in administering a community, and providing people with material and spiritual welfare. In other words, by 'Alawi doctrines, exploiting illegitimate means and tools which are ostentatiously efficient but erroneous in effect, is not regarded as politics; rather, it is deception, fraudulence, and in Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.)'s words, "imposture".5

From the viewpoint of Imam Ali (a.s.), government is dominion over the hearts and conquest of wisdoms and affections, rather than subjugation of "bodies", dominance over individuals, and riding upon their shoulders. Such interpretation of government leaves no room for resorting to illegitimate political instruments. In his view, power has no sanctity except for administering justice, hence no need to fall back on false ways to preserve it. Dominion over hearts is in no way possible except by using the right methods and treatment based on values. Illegitimate and false policies may gallop along and go on dominating for a short while, but they will never last long and bring nothing to people but harm and loss:

Truth has a lasting sovereignty, and falsehood a short-lived flaunting.6

'Alawi Reformations

With this attitude towards government and sovereignty, and with such interpretation of politics, Imam Ali (a.s.) took over the reign, and right after achieving political power started the state reformations accordingly, with the motto, "Social and Economical Justice".

He had proclaimed the reason for accepting hukuma as "embarking on reforms and restoring the suppressed rights. Ali (a.s.) believed that whatever had happened before his time and after the demise of the Apostle of God, had radically changed the community and altered the values, creating a great gap and inconsistency between what was towed behind by the name of "Islamic State", and what the Holy Prophet (S) had originally founded. In his formal statement at the beginning of his caliphate, Ali (a.s.) asserted that what had been done had been inconsistent with the sira and sunna of the Apostle of God; the status quo was unbearable; and there was a strong need for providing a new way and a firmly set procedure which would be unlike "the tradition of the two Shayks", but of "'Alawi tradition and 'Alawi reforms" consistent with "the tradition of the Prophet" and Muhammadan reforms".

Surprisingly, Imam Ali (a.s.) has found out through his deep political insight that such procedure and reformation would not be tolerated by people who had for a long time been accustomed to reverse values: “Neither hearts can stand it nor can intellects accept it”.7

However, he is a Truth-oriented statesman who regards "Politics" as honesty in speech and clarity in position, as well as adherence to Truth, and no less than that. That is why in his very first statement, he declares explicitly an unrelenting struggle against alterations, deviations, abnormalities, and undue ups and downs, without the slightest fear of the political repercussions and social tension that would ensue. Of course, he started all this with resolution, far-sightedness, and accurate and firm policy-making and planning.

'Alawi Policies in Confrontation with Deviations

Imam Ali (a.s.) was profoundly and closely aware of what had befallen the people, and knew how they had acclimatized to the deviations, and now he is determined to embark on reforms; he knew both the depth of the calamity and the difficulty of removing it from every nook and cranny of the society. Thus, Imam Ali (a.s.) acted neither hastily nor unplanned. He divided the reforms he intended to make into two categories:

1. Fighting against administrative and economic corruption,

2. Fighting against cultural deviation.

The Policy of Administrative and Economical Reformation

Ali (a.s.) began encountering administrative and economic deviations and fighting against related corruption from the very beginning of his rule. He expelled incompetent, corrupt, and ill-behaved administrators from their posts and reclaimed the plundered public treasury.

On the first day of his rule, the Imam proclaimed his intended reform policy in the following thought - provoking words:

You should know that if I respond to you, I would lead you as I know I should and would not care about whatever one may say or abuse.8

That means you should comply with me, rather than the reverse. Ali (a.s.) is Truth-centered man, adept in the sunna, and absorbed in God. What is thought-provoking here is that the Imam indicates that he knows this complying would lead to hardships; above all, rebukes, faultfinding, and chantage and lobbying would follow. His motto, however, is: "I am Truth-centered and I safeguard the truth, and nothing else.

Then, on the second day of his Caliphate, he asserted in his lofty status of social guidance and in view of his great responsibility of leadership as follows:

Know that any land that 'Uthman has granted and any wealth from God's property that he has given as gift will be refunded to the public treasury; as nothing would violate previous rights and if I find the assets I will restore them to their rightful place even if they are given as marriage-portion to women or distributed among cities; as justice is expanding in nature, and for whomsoever justice is constraining, oppression will be even more so.9

In a fervent, awakening and thought-provoking sermon, the Imam widely spoke on the same day about the responsibility of the authorities of a community in realizing social justice, stressing that he would not give a special privilege to anybody for utilizing public treasury; and those who have appropriated, through public treasury, plots of land, water, well-bred horses, and good looking maids should know that Ali will confiscate all those assets and return them to the treasury.

These words came down like thunderbolts, heavily striking like a smith's hammer on the heads of those who had plundered and pillaged, and now were extremely worried; and thus Ali (a.s.)'s outcry advocating justice reverberated more than ever among the well-known figures, who soon turned into staunch opponents of Alawi rule.

These mottos were uttered, and the people got familiar with a resonance unknown to them up to then.

On the third day of Ali (a.s.)'s rule, people sought to receive their portion of public treasury. The Imam ordered his notary, 'Ubayd Allah b. Rafi' as follows:

Start from Muhajirun (the emigrants). Call for them and give them three dinars each. Then, call for the Ansar (the helpers), and treat them similarly. Anyone else coming to you, black or red, or..., treat them the same way you treated Muhajirun and Ansar....10

The dignitaries from among the people found out that Ali (a.s.)'s plan of economic justice was not a slogan; it was real practice, and very serious indeed. Objections began to be raised in his presence. He reported the events. Not only the Imam was not shocked by the onset of oppositions, especially from pompous figures, and did not hesitate on his way, but also decisively asserted the continuation of his reforms. He said:

By God, if I remain [in power] and stay unimpaired, I will set them firm on a bright path.11

From this very moment, vengeance for 'Uthman's bloodshed began! Was it not ironic that some of the gold-hoarders and affluent stipulated their allegiance to the Imam on the following two conditions?

1. Ali (a.s.) should not meddle in the wealth that they have seized over the rule of 'Uthman;

2. He should identify, arrest and kill the murderers of 'Uthman.

The Imam, however, knew that vengeance for 'Uthman's bloodshed was only a pretext. What was of importance to them was prevention of taking back the illegitimate riches and treasured up properties left over from the era of 'Uthman. In this respect, the Imam had heard various proposals and had strongly rejected all the proposals, which were compromising, contradictory to restoring rights, and based on trampling upon public treasury.

Notes

1. See 10/1 (Causes for Durability of Governments).

2. See 10/2 (Causes for the Decline of Governments).

3. Robert Edward Egner, Bertrand Russell, Best: Silhouette in Satyr.

4. Al-Saduq, al-Amali, 132.

5. Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) says about Mu’awiya's political wits: "It is imposture and devilishness; it looks like intellect, but is not intellect." (Al-Kafi: I, 11.)

6. Al-Kafi: II, 447.

7. See 1/3: ahadith 7 & 6. [Nahj al-Balagha: Sermon 92. Translations of Nahj al-Balagha throughout this book are mainly adopted from Sayyid Ali Reza and William Chittick.]

8. See 1/3, hadith 8.

9. 2/3, hadith 72.

10. See 2/1, hadith 62.

11. Ibid.

Notes

[1] Among those who were sent to Europe as the reconnoiterer of the Islamic world wasYirmisekiz MehmetCelebi (Chalabi). He arrived at Paris as the Ottoman ambassador in 1720 and became one of the first Ottomans to give a first-hand report of 'modern' Europe, especially France. When compared with the accounts of earlier Muslim travelers to Europe, such as that ofEvliya Celebi , his reports and letters show inqn unequivocal way the psychology of the 18th century: a proud Muslim soul torn between the glory of his history and the mind-boggling advancement of the 'afranj ', the infidels of Europe. MehmetCelebi's reports published under the title ofSefaretname became a small genre of its own to be followed by later Ottoman envoys to Europe. HisSefaretname has also been translated into French by JulienGalland as Relation del'embassade de Mehmet Effendi a lacour de Franceen 1721ecrite parlui meme ettraduit par JulienGalland (Constantinople and Paris, 1757). For a brief account on MehmetCelebi in English, see Bernard Lewis, The Muslim Discovery of Europe, (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1982), pp. 114-116.

[2] See, among others, Bernard Lewis, The Muslim Discovery of Europe, pp. 221-238; and H. A. R. Gibb and Harold Bowen (eds.), Islamic Society and the West: A Study of the Impact of Western Civilization on Moslem Culture in the Near East (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1957), vol. I, parts I & II.

[3] G. E. VonGrunebaum , Modern Islam: The Search for Cultural Identity (Connecticut; Greenwood Press, 1962), pp. 103-111.

[4]Ataturk’un Soylev ve Demecleri (Ankara, 1952), II, 44, from a speech given in October 27, 1922; quoted in VonGrunebaum , ibid., p. 104.

[5] Although the most celebrated responses to Renan belong to J. Afghani and N. Kemal, a number of other refutations have been written. The Turkish scholarDucane Cundioglu lists twelve major refutations, ten of which are by Muslims, and the list comprises such names as Sayyid Amir Ali, RashidRida ,Celal Nuri, LouisMassignon , and MuhammadHamidullah . For an excellent survey of the subject, see his 'Ernest Renanve 'Reddiyeler 'Baglaminda Islam-Bilim Tartismalarina Bibliyografik BirKatki ', Divan, Vol. 2 (Istanbul, 1996), pp. 1-94.

[6] The full text ofAfhgani's rebuttal 'Refutation of the Materialists' is translated by Nikki R. Keddie, An Islamic Response to Imperialism, Political and Religious Writings of Sayyid Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983), pp. 130-174.

[7]Namik Kemal’s Defense has been published in Turkish many times. For a brief account of his political thought in general and apology in particular, see SerifMardin , The Genesis of Young Ottoman Thought: A Study in the Modernization of Turkish Political Ideas (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2000; originally published in 1962), pp. 283-336.

[8] For the radical positivism ofShumayyil andAntun , see Albert Hourani, Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age: 1798-1939 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993), pp. 245-259; HishamSharabi , Arab Intellectuals and the West: The Formative Years 1875-1941 (Washington DC: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1970). See also Osman Bakar 'Muslim Intellectual Responses to Modern Science' in his Tawhid and Science: Essays on the History and Philosophy of Islamic Science (Kuala Lumpur: Secretariat for Islamic Philosophy and Science, 1991), pp. 205-207.

[9] Turkey is a case in point. The growing literature on the philosophy of science in Turkish, with translations from European languages and indigenous contributions of Turkish scholars, is far beyond the other Islamic languages both in quality and quantity. Interestingly enough, the Muslim intellectuals have been more vocal in this debate, carrying the heritage of the Islamic sciences of nature into the very center of the current discourse on science. In addition to philosophical discussions, there is now a serious work done on the history of Islamic and especially Ottoman science, which was begun some years back under the direction ofEkmeleddin Ihsanoglu , head of the department of the history of Ottoman science at the University of Istanbul.

[10] See the remarks ofAbdus Salam, the Nobel laureate and one of the famous scientists of the 20th century, Ideals and Realities: Selected Essays ofAbdus Salam, ed. by C. H. Lai (Singapore: World Scientific, 1987).

[11] Osman Amin, one of the prominent figures of Egyptian intellectual scene of the last century and perhaps the most outspoken vanguard of the 19th century Islamic modernism represented by Afghani, Abduh and Abd al-Raziq , interpretsAbduh's vision of modern science as a veritable attempt to revive the traditional concept of knowledge ('ilm). He has the following to say: 'Islam has been accused of being hostile to the development of science and culture. For 'Abduh there is nothingmore false than such hasty or partial judgments. In the search for truth, Islam prescribes reasons [sic.], condemns blind imitation and blames those who attach themselves without discernment to the habits and opinions of their forefathers. How then can Islam, based on the requirements of human nature and reason, and itself urging its faithful to seek and reason, to develop their knowledge and to perfect their understanding -- how can such a faith be incapable of satisfying the demands of science and culture? … Did not the Prophet of Islam say: 'Seek to learn science even though you have to find it in China.' … undoubtedly the religion which declared that 'the ink of a scholar is as precious as the blood of martyrs' cannot be accused of obscurantism in its essential nature.' Osman Amin, Lights on Contemporary Moslem Philosophy (The Renaissance Bookshop: Cairo, 1958), pp. 140-141; cf. also pp. 105-106.

[12] Afghani's letter to Renan, published in Journal deDebats , May 18, 1883, translated in Kiddie, ibid., p. 183.

[13] Afghani, 'Lecture on Teaching and Learning', in Keddie, ibid., p. 107.

[14] Perhaps the most notable exception, albeit in a rather negative sense, was Sayyid Ahmad Khan who had called for the complete rejection of the traditional notions of nature under the name of 'new theology' (ilm-i kalam-i jadid ).Afhgani was well aware of the perils of this point of view, and thus did not hesitate to include Ahmad Khan among the 'materialists', whom he called 'neicheri ', namely the naturalists. For Afghani's response, see his 'The Materialists in India', al-'Urwat al-Wuthqa , August 28, 1884, translated in N. R. Keddie, ibid., pp. 175-180.

[15] In one of his famous aphorisms,Nursi stresses the importance of the unity of the heart and reason for the future of humanity. But he qualifies reason (akil , aql in Arabic) as 'the sciences of modern civilization' (funun -umedeniye ): 'The light of the heart (vicdan ,wijdan in Arabic) are the religious sciences whereas the light of reason are the modern sciences. The truth emerges out of the blend of the two. When they are separated, the former causes dogmatism and the latter deception and suspicion.' SaidNursi ,Munazarat (Istanbul:Tenvir Nesriyat , 1978), p. 81.

[16]Nursi's works, especially theSozler (Istanbul: SinanMatbaasi , 1958), are replete with references to God as the Great or Absolute Artisan (sani-i mutlak ) of the universe. It goes without saying thatNursi was not alone in approaching the deterministic and orderly universe of modern science from this peculiar point of view. In fact, this was a common attitude among the forerunners of what is called the 'scientific method of commenting upon the Qur'an' (al-tafsir al-'ilmi and/or al-tafsir al-fanni ) such as Muhammad Abdu, Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Iskandarani , Sayyid Abd al-Rahman al-Kawakibi , and Muhammad AbdullahDraz . LikeNursi , these figures were passionately engaged in reconciling the scientific findings of 19th century physical sciences with the cosmological verses of the Qur'an and, in some cases, the sayings (hadith) of the Prophet of Islam. For these figures and the concept of scientific commentary, see Ahmad Umar AbuHijr , al-Tafsir al-'Ilmili'l -Qur'anfi'l-Mizan (Beirut, 1991) and Muhammad Husayn al-Dhahabi , al-Tafsirwa'l-Mufassirun , 2 vols (Beirut, 1976).

[17] SerifMardin , Religion and Social Change in Turkey: The Case ofBediuzzaman SaidNursi (New York: SUNY Press, 1989), p. 214.Mardin also makes interesting remarks concerningNursi's ambivalent relation to Sufi cosmology represented especially by Ibn Arabi. Ibid., pp. 203-212.

[18] Without exception, all ofNursi's followers appeal to the first view, rejecting any association with positivism. For a defense of this position, see, among others,Yamine B.Mermer , 'The Hermeneutical Dimension of Science: A Critical Analysis Based on SaidNursi's Risale-i Nur', The Muslim World, Special Issue: SaidNursi and the Turkish Experience, ed. by M.Hakan Yavuz, Vol. LXXXIX, Nos. 3-4 (July-October, 1999), pp. 270-296.Mermer's essay is also interesting for making a case for occasionalism on the basis ofNursi's views.

[19] I am grateful to Drs. AliMermer andYamine B.Mermer for drawing my attention to this incongruity, which should perhaps be emphasized more than I can afford here. I will be dealing withNursi's position on science in full detail in a separate study.

[20] The ambiguity, for want of a better term, ofNursi's position on modern science is illustrated by an interesting incident whichNursi narrates in hisKastamonu Lahikasi (Ankara:Dogus Matbaasi , 1958), p. 179. According to the story, aNaqshibandi darwish , a member of theNaqshibandiyyah order, has read a section of theRisale-i Nur on the meaning of 'ism-i Hakem (the Divine name of the Arbiter) dealing with sun and the solar system, and concluded that 'these works [i.e., theRisaleler ] deal with scientific matters just like the scientists and cosmographers'. In response to this 'delusion' (vehim ),Nursi has the same treatise read to him in his presence, upon which thedarwish admits his misunderstanding. This incident is narrated byNursi , we may presume, as a preemptive act to separateNursi's 'scientific exegesis' from the method ofmodenr physical sciences.

[21]Sozler (Istanbul: SinanMatbaasi , 1958), p. 265, andIsharat al-i'jaz fimazanni'l-ijaz (Istanbul, 1994), p. 311.

[22]Sozler , p. 266.

[23] Ibid., pp. 263; see also hisSikke-i Tasdik-i Gaybi (Istanbul: SinanMatbaasi , 1958), p. 76.

[24]Sozler , pp. 272-273;Isharat , p. 310.

[25] Heidegger makes his case in two of his famous essays ‘The Question Concerning Technology’ and ‘The Age of the World Picture’. These essays have been published in The Question Concerning Technology and Other Essays, Translated and with an Introduction by WilliamLowitt , (New York: Harper Colophon Books, 1977). See also, in the same collection of essays, his ‘Science and Reflection’, pp. 155-182.

[26] Charles Taylor puts it in the following way: ‘Is the expression which makes us human essentially a self-expression, in that we are mainly responding to our way of feeling/experiencing the world, and bringing this to expression? Or are we responding to the reality in which we are set, in which we are included of course, but which is not reducible to our experience of it?’ See Charles Taylor, Human Agency and Language: Philosophical Papers, vol. I., (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985), p. 238.

[27] Heidegger calls this ‘projection’, through which the world of nature is made the subject-matter ofmathematico -physical sciences: ‘What is decisive for its development [viz., the development of mathematical physics] does not lie in its rather high esteem for the observation of 'facts', nor in its 'application' of mathematics in determining the character of normal processes; it lies rather in the way in which Nature herself is mathematically projected. In this projection, something constantly present-at-hand (matter) is uncovered beforehand, and the horizon is opened so that one may be guided by looking at those constitutive items in it, which are quantitatively determinable (motion, force, location, and time). Only 'in the light' of a Nature which has been projected in this fashion can anything like a 'fact' be found and set up for an experiment regulated and delimited in terms of this projection. The 'grounding' of 'factual science' was possible only because the researchers understood that in principle there are no 'bare facts'’. Being and Time, tr. by J.Macquarrie and E. Robinson, (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1978), pp. 413-4.

[28] To illustrate the lure of postmodernism in the current debate, one may refer to AlanSokal’s now famous hoax and its wholehearted incorporation by M.Zaki Kirmani , a member of the Aligarh school. AlanSokal , a physicist and philosopher of science, published an article in Social Text 46/47 (Spring-Summer, 1996), pp. 217-52 titled “Transgressing the Boundaries: Toward a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity”. In the article,Sokal , using the recent findings and discussions in quantum physics, made a case for what is labeled as ‘postmodern science’, giving perhaps one of the most incredulous versions of postmodernist discourse on science. The article was published by Social Text in all seriousness. After the publication of the article, however,Sokal shocked the academic world by declaring that his article was a hoax and that its sole purpose was to expose what goes under the name of postmodernism. As expected, theSokal hoax quickly became a hallmark of intellectual masquerading so rampant in academic circles today. In the wake of the publication of his article and the debate that ensued afterwards,Sokal made his overall case in Intellectual Impostures (London: Profile Books, 1998) authored with JeanBricmont .Sokal’s famous article appears at the end of this book. Apparently not aware of theSokal event, A. Z.Kirmani quotes the aforementioned article in earnest to make a case for postmodern science, which he then relates to Islamic science. ForKirmani’s views, see his “Islamic Science Debate: Entering the New Millennium”, HamdardIslamicus Vol. XXIII, No. 4 (October-December, 2000), pp. 33-34.

[29] See, Ismail R. al-Faruqi Islamization of Knowledge: General Principles and Work Plan (Washington DC: International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1982). This book has been largely revised and expanded in its 1989 edition by a group of scholars associated with the International Institute of Islamic Thought.

[30] JamalBerzinji , one of the family members of IIIT, mentions the natural sciences only once (p. 28) in his informative article on Islamization of knowledge and IIIT’s role in its development. See his ‘History of Islamization of Knowledge and Contributions of the International Institute of Islamic Thought’ in Muslims and Islamization in North America: Problems & Prospects, ed. by Amber Haque (Maryland: Amana Publications, 1999), pp. 13-31.

[31] For an informative analysis ofFaruqi's work on Islamization, see Leif Stenberg, The Islamization of Science: Four Muslim Positions Developing an Islamic Modernity (Lund: Lund Studies in History of Religions, 1996), pp. 153-219.

[32] For an exposition and defense of the views of these two groups, see A. Z.Kirmani , ibid., pp. 7-36.

[33] Ziauddin Sardar, Explorations in Islamic Science, (London: Mansell Publishing Ltd., 1989), p. 155. This emphatic denial itself is quite telling for our discussion here.

[34] Z. Sardar, Islamic Futures (London: Mansell Publishing Ltd., 1985), p. 157.

[35] Nasr uses the word metaphysics as the all-inclusive science of the Divine Principle, which comprises both ontology and theology: 'If Being is envisaged as the principle of existence or of all that exists, then It cannot be identified with the Principle as such because the Principle is not exhausted by its creating aspect. Being is the first determination of the Supreme Principle in the direction of manifestation, and ontology remains only a part of metaphysics and is incomplete as long as it envisages the Principle only as Being in the sense defined.' Knowledge and the Sacred (New York: SUNY Press, 1989), p. 136.

[36] Perhaps the most systematic and comprehensive exposition of this idea is to be found in MullaSadra's concept of nature (tabi'ah ) and substantial movement (al-harakat al-jawhariyyah ). See the section on natural philosophy (‘ilm al-tabi’ah ) in his al-Hikmat al-muta’aliyah fi’l-asfar al-arba’at al-’aqliyyah , ed. by M.Rida al-Muzaffar, (Beirut: DarIhya al-Turath al-‘ Arabi, 1981), vol. 3, part. 1.Sadra’s work is also important for its highly articulated cosmology which is comparable only to that of Ibn al-‘ Arabi.

[37] For an analysis of such concepts as quality, quantity, unity, simplicity regularity, etc., from the traditional point of view, see Rene Guenon, The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times (London, 1953), especially, pp. 19-100.

[38] S. H. Nasr, Islamic Science: An Illustrated Study (Kent: World of Islam Festival Publishing Company Ltd, 1976), pp. 3-9; and S. M.Naquib al-Attas , 'Islam and the Philosophy of Science' in his Prolegomena to the Metaphysics of Islam: An Exposition of the Fundamental Elements of the Worldview of Islam (Kuala Lumpur: ISTAC, 1995), and Islam and Secularism (Kuala Lumpur: Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia, 1978).

[39] 'Islamic science is that scientific activity which takes place ultimately within the Islamic worldview (which can now be identified also as the Islamic conceptual environment); but as an extension of it directly within the Islamic scientific conceptual scheme (which can be identified also as the Islamic context of sciences).'Alparslan Acikgenc , Islamic Science: Towards a Definition (Kuala Lumpur: ISTAC, 1996), p. 38.

[40] S. H. Nasr, Science and Civilization in Islam (New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1992), p. 22.

[41] Ibid., p. 24.

[42] For Nasr's concept of philosophy, see his 'The Meaning and Concept of Philosophy in Islam' and 'the Qur'an and the Hadith as Source and Inspiration of Islamic Philosophy' in History of Islamic Philosophy, 2 vols, ed. by S. H. Nasr and O.Leaman (London: Routledge, 1996), pp. 21-39.

[43] This has been noted by many Western historians of science. See, for instance, Edwin ArthurBurtt , The Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Physical Science (New York: Doubleday Anchor Books, 1932) and Wolfgang Smith, Cosmos and Transcendence: Breaking Through the Barrier ofScientistic Belief (Illinois: SherwoodSugden & Company, 1984). For the transformation of the concept of nature in the Western tradition, see R. G. Collingwood, The Idea of Nature (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1972), especially pp. 133-177. For a thorough study of the ongoing debate on the meaning of the Scientific Revolution, see H. Floris Cohen, The Scientific Revolution: A Historiographical Inquiry (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1994). Cohen’s book has also a useful section (pp. 384-417) on Islamic science in relation to the Scientific Revolution.

[44] Russell has provided one of the most elegant expressions of the secular outlook of modern physical sciences in his celebrated essay 'A Free Man's Worship'. See his Mysticism and Logic (New York: Doubleday Anchor Books, 1957), pp. 44-54. It would not be out of place to quote him here to underline the sharp contrast between the secular and traditional conceptions of science: 'Such in outline, but even more purposeless, more void of meaning, is the world which Science presents for our belief. Amid such a world, if anywhere, our ideals henceforward must find a home. That Man is the product of causes which had no prevision of the end they were achieving; that his origin, his growth, his hopes and fears, his loves and his beliefs, are but the outcome of accidental collocations of atoms; that no fire, no heroism, no intensity of thought and feeling, can preserve an individual life beyond the grave; that all the labors of the ages, all the devotion, all the inspiration, all the noonday brightness of human genius, are destined to extinction in the vast death of the solar system, and that the whole temple Man's achievement must inevitably be buried beneath the debris of a universe in ruins -- all these things, if not quite beyond dispute, are yet so nearly certain, that no philosophy which rejects them can hope to stand.' Ibid., p. 45.

[45] Nasr has given a full account of this process in his Religion and the Order of Nature (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997), which is a comprehensive and detailed sequel to his earlier work Man and Nature: The Spiritual Crisis in Modern Man (Chicago: ABC International, 1999). I have dealt with Nasr’s conception of science in greater detail in my 'The Sacred versus the Secular: Nasr on Science', The Philosophy ofSeyyed Hossein Nasr, ed. by L. E. Hahn, R. E.Auxier , and L. W. Stone, (Chicago: Open Court, 2001), pp. 445-462.

www.alhassanain.org/english

Notes

[1] Among those who were sent to Europe as the reconnoiterer of the Islamic world wasYirmisekiz MehmetCelebi (Chalabi). He arrived at Paris as the Ottoman ambassador in 1720 and became one of the first Ottomans to give a first-hand report of 'modern' Europe, especially France. When compared with the accounts of earlier Muslim travelers to Europe, such as that ofEvliya Celebi , his reports and letters show inqn unequivocal way the psychology of the 18th century: a proud Muslim soul torn between the glory of his history and the mind-boggling advancement of the 'afranj ', the infidels of Europe. MehmetCelebi's reports published under the title ofSefaretname became a small genre of its own to be followed by later Ottoman envoys to Europe. HisSefaretname has also been translated into French by JulienGalland as Relation del'embassade de Mehmet Effendi a lacour de Franceen 1721ecrite parlui meme ettraduit par JulienGalland (Constantinople and Paris, 1757). For a brief account on MehmetCelebi in English, see Bernard Lewis, The Muslim Discovery of Europe, (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1982), pp. 114-116.

[2] See, among others, Bernard Lewis, The Muslim Discovery of Europe, pp. 221-238; and H. A. R. Gibb and Harold Bowen (eds.), Islamic Society and the West: A Study of the Impact of Western Civilization on Moslem Culture in the Near East (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1957), vol. I, parts I & II.

[3] G. E. VonGrunebaum , Modern Islam: The Search for Cultural Identity (Connecticut; Greenwood Press, 1962), pp. 103-111.

[4]Ataturk’un Soylev ve Demecleri (Ankara, 1952), II, 44, from a speech given in October 27, 1922; quoted in VonGrunebaum , ibid., p. 104.

[5] Although the most celebrated responses to Renan belong to J. Afghani and N. Kemal, a number of other refutations have been written. The Turkish scholarDucane Cundioglu lists twelve major refutations, ten of which are by Muslims, and the list comprises such names as Sayyid Amir Ali, RashidRida ,Celal Nuri, LouisMassignon , and MuhammadHamidullah . For an excellent survey of the subject, see his 'Ernest Renanve 'Reddiyeler 'Baglaminda Islam-Bilim Tartismalarina Bibliyografik BirKatki ', Divan, Vol. 2 (Istanbul, 1996), pp. 1-94.

[6] The full text ofAfhgani's rebuttal 'Refutation of the Materialists' is translated by Nikki R. Keddie, An Islamic Response to Imperialism, Political and Religious Writings of Sayyid Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983), pp. 130-174.

[7]Namik Kemal’s Defense has been published in Turkish many times. For a brief account of his political thought in general and apology in particular, see SerifMardin , The Genesis of Young Ottoman Thought: A Study in the Modernization of Turkish Political Ideas (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2000; originally published in 1962), pp. 283-336.

[8] For the radical positivism ofShumayyil andAntun , see Albert Hourani, Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age: 1798-1939 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993), pp. 245-259; HishamSharabi , Arab Intellectuals and the West: The Formative Years 1875-1941 (Washington DC: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1970). See also Osman Bakar 'Muslim Intellectual Responses to Modern Science' in his Tawhid and Science: Essays on the History and Philosophy of Islamic Science (Kuala Lumpur: Secretariat for Islamic Philosophy and Science, 1991), pp. 205-207.

[9] Turkey is a case in point. The growing literature on the philosophy of science in Turkish, with translations from European languages and indigenous contributions of Turkish scholars, is far beyond the other Islamic languages both in quality and quantity. Interestingly enough, the Muslim intellectuals have been more vocal in this debate, carrying the heritage of the Islamic sciences of nature into the very center of the current discourse on science. In addition to philosophical discussions, there is now a serious work done on the history of Islamic and especially Ottoman science, which was begun some years back under the direction ofEkmeleddin Ihsanoglu , head of the department of the history of Ottoman science at the University of Istanbul.

[10] See the remarks ofAbdus Salam, the Nobel laureate and one of the famous scientists of the 20th century, Ideals and Realities: Selected Essays ofAbdus Salam, ed. by C. H. Lai (Singapore: World Scientific, 1987).

[11] Osman Amin, one of the prominent figures of Egyptian intellectual scene of the last century and perhaps the most outspoken vanguard of the 19th century Islamic modernism represented by Afghani, Abduh and Abd al-Raziq , interpretsAbduh's vision of modern science as a veritable attempt to revive the traditional concept of knowledge ('ilm). He has the following to say: 'Islam has been accused of being hostile to the development of science and culture. For 'Abduh there is nothingmore false than such hasty or partial judgments. In the search for truth, Islam prescribes reasons [sic.], condemns blind imitation and blames those who attach themselves without discernment to the habits and opinions of their forefathers. How then can Islam, based on the requirements of human nature and reason, and itself urging its faithful to seek and reason, to develop their knowledge and to perfect their understanding -- how can such a faith be incapable of satisfying the demands of science and culture? … Did not the Prophet of Islam say: 'Seek to learn science even though you have to find it in China.' … undoubtedly the religion which declared that 'the ink of a scholar is as precious as the blood of martyrs' cannot be accused of obscurantism in its essential nature.' Osman Amin, Lights on Contemporary Moslem Philosophy (The Renaissance Bookshop: Cairo, 1958), pp. 140-141; cf. also pp. 105-106.

[12] Afghani's letter to Renan, published in Journal deDebats , May 18, 1883, translated in Kiddie, ibid., p. 183.

[13] Afghani, 'Lecture on Teaching and Learning', in Keddie, ibid., p. 107.

[14] Perhaps the most notable exception, albeit in a rather negative sense, was Sayyid Ahmad Khan who had called for the complete rejection of the traditional notions of nature under the name of 'new theology' (ilm-i kalam-i jadid ).Afhgani was well aware of the perils of this point of view, and thus did not hesitate to include Ahmad Khan among the 'materialists', whom he called 'neicheri ', namely the naturalists. For Afghani's response, see his 'The Materialists in India', al-'Urwat al-Wuthqa , August 28, 1884, translated in N. R. Keddie, ibid., pp. 175-180.

[15] In one of his famous aphorisms,Nursi stresses the importance of the unity of the heart and reason for the future of humanity. But he qualifies reason (akil , aql in Arabic) as 'the sciences of modern civilization' (funun -umedeniye ): 'The light of the heart (vicdan ,wijdan in Arabic) are the religious sciences whereas the light of reason are the modern sciences. The truth emerges out of the blend of the two. When they are separated, the former causes dogmatism and the latter deception and suspicion.' SaidNursi ,Munazarat (Istanbul:Tenvir Nesriyat , 1978), p. 81.

[16]Nursi's works, especially theSozler (Istanbul: SinanMatbaasi , 1958), are replete with references to God as the Great or Absolute Artisan (sani-i mutlak ) of the universe. It goes without saying thatNursi was not alone in approaching the deterministic and orderly universe of modern science from this peculiar point of view. In fact, this was a common attitude among the forerunners of what is called the 'scientific method of commenting upon the Qur'an' (al-tafsir al-'ilmi and/or al-tafsir al-fanni ) such as Muhammad Abdu, Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Iskandarani , Sayyid Abd al-Rahman al-Kawakibi , and Muhammad AbdullahDraz . LikeNursi , these figures were passionately engaged in reconciling the scientific findings of 19th century physical sciences with the cosmological verses of the Qur'an and, in some cases, the sayings (hadith) of the Prophet of Islam. For these figures and the concept of scientific commentary, see Ahmad Umar AbuHijr , al-Tafsir al-'Ilmili'l -Qur'anfi'l-Mizan (Beirut, 1991) and Muhammad Husayn al-Dhahabi , al-Tafsirwa'l-Mufassirun , 2 vols (Beirut, 1976).

[17] SerifMardin , Religion and Social Change in Turkey: The Case ofBediuzzaman SaidNursi (New York: SUNY Press, 1989), p. 214.Mardin also makes interesting remarks concerningNursi's ambivalent relation to Sufi cosmology represented especially by Ibn Arabi. Ibid., pp. 203-212.

[18] Without exception, all ofNursi's followers appeal to the first view, rejecting any association with positivism. For a defense of this position, see, among others,Yamine B.Mermer , 'The Hermeneutical Dimension of Science: A Critical Analysis Based on SaidNursi's Risale-i Nur', The Muslim World, Special Issue: SaidNursi and the Turkish Experience, ed. by M.Hakan Yavuz, Vol. LXXXIX, Nos. 3-4 (July-October, 1999), pp. 270-296.Mermer's essay is also interesting for making a case for occasionalism on the basis ofNursi's views.

[19] I am grateful to Drs. AliMermer andYamine B.Mermer for drawing my attention to this incongruity, which should perhaps be emphasized more than I can afford here. I will be dealing withNursi's position on science in full detail in a separate study.

[20] The ambiguity, for want of a better term, ofNursi's position on modern science is illustrated by an interesting incident whichNursi narrates in hisKastamonu Lahikasi (Ankara:Dogus Matbaasi , 1958), p. 179. According to the story, aNaqshibandi darwish , a member of theNaqshibandiyyah order, has read a section of theRisale-i Nur on the meaning of 'ism-i Hakem (the Divine name of the Arbiter) dealing with sun and the solar system, and concluded that 'these works [i.e., theRisaleler ] deal with scientific matters just like the scientists and cosmographers'. In response to this 'delusion' (vehim ),Nursi has the same treatise read to him in his presence, upon which thedarwish admits his misunderstanding. This incident is narrated byNursi , we may presume, as a preemptive act to separateNursi's 'scientific exegesis' from the method ofmodenr physical sciences.

[21]Sozler (Istanbul: SinanMatbaasi , 1958), p. 265, andIsharat al-i'jaz fimazanni'l-ijaz (Istanbul, 1994), p. 311.

[22]Sozler , p. 266.

[23] Ibid., pp. 263; see also hisSikke-i Tasdik-i Gaybi (Istanbul: SinanMatbaasi , 1958), p. 76.

[24]Sozler , pp. 272-273;Isharat , p. 310.

[25] Heidegger makes his case in two of his famous essays ‘The Question Concerning Technology’ and ‘The Age of the World Picture’. These essays have been published in The Question Concerning Technology and Other Essays, Translated and with an Introduction by WilliamLowitt , (New York: Harper Colophon Books, 1977). See also, in the same collection of essays, his ‘Science and Reflection’, pp. 155-182.

[26] Charles Taylor puts it in the following way: ‘Is the expression which makes us human essentially a self-expression, in that we are mainly responding to our way of feeling/experiencing the world, and bringing this to expression? Or are we responding to the reality in which we are set, in which we are included of course, but which is not reducible to our experience of it?’ See Charles Taylor, Human Agency and Language: Philosophical Papers, vol. I., (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985), p. 238.

[27] Heidegger calls this ‘projection’, through which the world of nature is made the subject-matter ofmathematico -physical sciences: ‘What is decisive for its development [viz., the development of mathematical physics] does not lie in its rather high esteem for the observation of 'facts', nor in its 'application' of mathematics in determining the character of normal processes; it lies rather in the way in which Nature herself is mathematically projected. In this projection, something constantly present-at-hand (matter) is uncovered beforehand, and the horizon is opened so that one may be guided by looking at those constitutive items in it, which are quantitatively determinable (motion, force, location, and time). Only 'in the light' of a Nature which has been projected in this fashion can anything like a 'fact' be found and set up for an experiment regulated and delimited in terms of this projection. The 'grounding' of 'factual science' was possible only because the researchers understood that in principle there are no 'bare facts'’. Being and Time, tr. by J.Macquarrie and E. Robinson, (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1978), pp. 413-4.

[28] To illustrate the lure of postmodernism in the current debate, one may refer to AlanSokal’s now famous hoax and its wholehearted incorporation by M.Zaki Kirmani , a member of the Aligarh school. AlanSokal , a physicist and philosopher of science, published an article in Social Text 46/47 (Spring-Summer, 1996), pp. 217-52 titled “Transgressing the Boundaries: Toward a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity”. In the article,Sokal , using the recent findings and discussions in quantum physics, made a case for what is labeled as ‘postmodern science’, giving perhaps one of the most incredulous versions of postmodernist discourse on science. The article was published by Social Text in all seriousness. After the publication of the article, however,Sokal shocked the academic world by declaring that his article was a hoax and that its sole purpose was to expose what goes under the name of postmodernism. As expected, theSokal hoax quickly became a hallmark of intellectual masquerading so rampant in academic circles today. In the wake of the publication of his article and the debate that ensued afterwards,Sokal made his overall case in Intellectual Impostures (London: Profile Books, 1998) authored with JeanBricmont .Sokal’s famous article appears at the end of this book. Apparently not aware of theSokal event, A. Z.Kirmani quotes the aforementioned article in earnest to make a case for postmodern science, which he then relates to Islamic science. ForKirmani’s views, see his “Islamic Science Debate: Entering the New Millennium”, HamdardIslamicus Vol. XXIII, No. 4 (October-December, 2000), pp. 33-34.

[29] See, Ismail R. al-Faruqi Islamization of Knowledge: General Principles and Work Plan (Washington DC: International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1982). This book has been largely revised and expanded in its 1989 edition by a group of scholars associated with the International Institute of Islamic Thought.

[30] JamalBerzinji , one of the family members of IIIT, mentions the natural sciences only once (p. 28) in his informative article on Islamization of knowledge and IIIT’s role in its development. See his ‘History of Islamization of Knowledge and Contributions of the International Institute of Islamic Thought’ in Muslims and Islamization in North America: Problems & Prospects, ed. by Amber Haque (Maryland: Amana Publications, 1999), pp. 13-31.

[31] For an informative analysis ofFaruqi's work on Islamization, see Leif Stenberg, The Islamization of Science: Four Muslim Positions Developing an Islamic Modernity (Lund: Lund Studies in History of Religions, 1996), pp. 153-219.

[32] For an exposition and defense of the views of these two groups, see A. Z.Kirmani , ibid., pp. 7-36.

[33] Ziauddin Sardar, Explorations in Islamic Science, (London: Mansell Publishing Ltd., 1989), p. 155. This emphatic denial itself is quite telling for our discussion here.

[34] Z. Sardar, Islamic Futures (London: Mansell Publishing Ltd., 1985), p. 157.

[35] Nasr uses the word metaphysics as the all-inclusive science of the Divine Principle, which comprises both ontology and theology: 'If Being is envisaged as the principle of existence or of all that exists, then It cannot be identified with the Principle as such because the Principle is not exhausted by its creating aspect. Being is the first determination of the Supreme Principle in the direction of manifestation, and ontology remains only a part of metaphysics and is incomplete as long as it envisages the Principle only as Being in the sense defined.' Knowledge and the Sacred (New York: SUNY Press, 1989), p. 136.

[36] Perhaps the most systematic and comprehensive exposition of this idea is to be found in MullaSadra's concept of nature (tabi'ah ) and substantial movement (al-harakat al-jawhariyyah ). See the section on natural philosophy (‘ilm al-tabi’ah ) in his al-Hikmat al-muta’aliyah fi’l-asfar al-arba’at al-’aqliyyah , ed. by M.Rida al-Muzaffar, (Beirut: DarIhya al-Turath al-‘ Arabi, 1981), vol. 3, part. 1.Sadra’s work is also important for its highly articulated cosmology which is comparable only to that of Ibn al-‘ Arabi.

[37] For an analysis of such concepts as quality, quantity, unity, simplicity regularity, etc., from the traditional point of view, see Rene Guenon, The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times (London, 1953), especially, pp. 19-100.

[38] S. H. Nasr, Islamic Science: An Illustrated Study (Kent: World of Islam Festival Publishing Company Ltd, 1976), pp. 3-9; and S. M.Naquib al-Attas , 'Islam and the Philosophy of Science' in his Prolegomena to the Metaphysics of Islam: An Exposition of the Fundamental Elements of the Worldview of Islam (Kuala Lumpur: ISTAC, 1995), and Islam and Secularism (Kuala Lumpur: Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia, 1978).

[39] 'Islamic science is that scientific activity which takes place ultimately within the Islamic worldview (which can now be identified also as the Islamic conceptual environment); but as an extension of it directly within the Islamic scientific conceptual scheme (which can be identified also as the Islamic context of sciences).'Alparslan Acikgenc , Islamic Science: Towards a Definition (Kuala Lumpur: ISTAC, 1996), p. 38.

[40] S. H. Nasr, Science and Civilization in Islam (New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1992), p. 22.

[41] Ibid., p. 24.

[42] For Nasr's concept of philosophy, see his 'The Meaning and Concept of Philosophy in Islam' and 'the Qur'an and the Hadith as Source and Inspiration of Islamic Philosophy' in History of Islamic Philosophy, 2 vols, ed. by S. H. Nasr and O.Leaman (London: Routledge, 1996), pp. 21-39.

[43] This has been noted by many Western historians of science. See, for instance, Edwin ArthurBurtt , The Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Physical Science (New York: Doubleday Anchor Books, 1932) and Wolfgang Smith, Cosmos and Transcendence: Breaking Through the Barrier ofScientistic Belief (Illinois: SherwoodSugden & Company, 1984). For the transformation of the concept of nature in the Western tradition, see R. G. Collingwood, The Idea of Nature (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1972), especially pp. 133-177. For a thorough study of the ongoing debate on the meaning of the Scientific Revolution, see H. Floris Cohen, The Scientific Revolution: A Historiographical Inquiry (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1994). Cohen’s book has also a useful section (pp. 384-417) on Islamic science in relation to the Scientific Revolution.

[44] Russell has provided one of the most elegant expressions of the secular outlook of modern physical sciences in his celebrated essay 'A Free Man's Worship'. See his Mysticism and Logic (New York: Doubleday Anchor Books, 1957), pp. 44-54. It would not be out of place to quote him here to underline the sharp contrast between the secular and traditional conceptions of science: 'Such in outline, but even more purposeless, more void of meaning, is the world which Science presents for our belief. Amid such a world, if anywhere, our ideals henceforward must find a home. That Man is the product of causes which had no prevision of the end they were achieving; that his origin, his growth, his hopes and fears, his loves and his beliefs, are but the outcome of accidental collocations of atoms; that no fire, no heroism, no intensity of thought and feeling, can preserve an individual life beyond the grave; that all the labors of the ages, all the devotion, all the inspiration, all the noonday brightness of human genius, are destined to extinction in the vast death of the solar system, and that the whole temple Man's achievement must inevitably be buried beneath the debris of a universe in ruins -- all these things, if not quite beyond dispute, are yet so nearly certain, that no philosophy which rejects them can hope to stand.' Ibid., p. 45.

[45] Nasr has given a full account of this process in his Religion and the Order of Nature (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997), which is a comprehensive and detailed sequel to his earlier work Man and Nature: The Spiritual Crisis in Modern Man (Chicago: ABC International, 1999). I have dealt with Nasr’s conception of science in greater detail in my 'The Sacred versus the Secular: Nasr on Science', The Philosophy ofSeyyed Hossein Nasr, ed. by L. E. Hahn, R. E.Auxier , and L. W. Stone, (Chicago: Open Court, 2001), pp. 445-462.

www.alhassanain.org/english