Islam and science : the intellectual career of Niẓām al-Dīn al-Nīsābūrī

Author(s)

    • Morrison, Robert G.

Bibliographic Information

Islam and science : the intellectual career of Niẓām al-Dīn al-Nīsābūrī

Robert G. Morrison

(Culture and civilization in the Middle East)

Routledge, 2010

  • : [pbk]

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Note

"First published 2007 by Routledge"--T.p. verso

"First issued in paperback 2010"--T.p. verso

Includes bibliographical references ( p.273-288) and indexes

Description and Table of Contents

Description

In examining the work of eminent fourteenth century Iranian Shiite scholar Nizam al-Din al-Nisaburi, this book is the first rigorous attempt to explain the cross-fertilization of scientific and religious thought in Islamic civilization. Nisaburi did not consider himself a scientist alone, being commissioned by his patrons to work in a variety of fields. Islam and Science examines in detail the relationship between the metaphysics of Nisaburi's science, and statements he made in his Qur'an commentary and in other non-scientific writings. Sources suggest that Nisaburi was inspired to begin his scientific career by the inclusion of basic science in a religious (madrasa) education. By mid-career, he had found methodological similarities between theoretical astronomy and Islamic jurisprudence. Morrison concludes that while Nisaburi believed science could give one a taste of God's knowledge, he realised that the study of science and natural philosophy alone could not lead him to a spiritual union with God. Only Sufi practice and Sufi theory could accomplish that. Morrison's work is remarkable in synthesizing the history of Islamic science with other areas of Islamic studies. It will be of interest to students and scholars of religion and the history of science, as well as readers with a more general interest in Middle Eastern studies. Winner of the Iranian World Prize for Book of the Year in Islamics Studies 2009

Table of Contents

1. Nishapur in the Wake of the Mongol Conquests 2. Religious Motivations for Nisaburi's Early Work on Observational Astronomy 3. Nisaburi and Critical Questions of Kalim 4. The Heavens Subjugated to God 5. The Principles of Astronomy are those of Jurisprudence 6. The Role of Science in the Portrayals of Nature in Nisaburi's Qur'an Commentary 7. The Role of the Esoteric

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