Eighth to the Sixteenth Century - Rashid Islamic Center

Islam and Modern Science: Contemporary Issues • 209pierce to its depths the mystery of the things that contain—space,time, matter, energy—forgets the mystery of the things that arecontained: it tries to explain the quintessential properties of ourbodies and the intimate functioning of our souls, but it does not knowwhat intelligence and existence are; consequently, seeing what its“principles” are, it cannot be otherwise than ignorant of what man is”(Schuon 1965, 111).The most representative voice of the traditionalist discourse onmodern science is that of Seyyed Hossein Nasr. Beginning with AnIntroduction to Islamic Cosmological Doctrines (1964), Nasr’s scholarlywritings have explored various aspects of Islam’s relationship withscience over the last forty-two years. These works are part of acorpus of writings that addresses almost all aspects of Islam andits civilization—from the Islamic concept of Ultimate Reality tosacred art and architecture. His works on science have exploredthe essential features of traditional sciences of nature as well asissues concerning modern science. Nasr’s unique position in theIslam and science discourse stems from his thorough training andunderstanding of modern Western science and traditional Islamichikmah (Wisdom). Ironically, it was during his years at MIT andHarvard that he developed a deep yearning for what was not offeredat these prestigious institutions—a Wisdom which could only belearned through an oral tradition. Therefore, soon after his returnto his native Iran in 1958, he sought traditional masters so that hecould learn wisdom “at their feet” (Nasr 2001b, 41). By that time hehad already spent years studying Islam and Western philosophy andhad made contact with the great expositors of traditional doctrinessuch as Schuon and Burckhardt. But it was the period between 1958and 1979 that proved to be the most important time for his writingson science. His training in the history and philosophy of modernscience and the inner resources gathered from traditional wisdomare a unique combination, making him the chief expositor of a clearand insightful Islamic perspective on science. His critique of modernscience identifies five main traits of modern science, as Kalin hassummed up his position: (i) the secular view of the universe thatsees no traces of the Divine in the natural order; (ii) mechanizationof the world-picture upon the model of machines and clocks; (iii)