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"The five essays assembled here,
as five chapters, are based on lectures delivered by the
author on five different occasions. They are united in that
they all concern the Holy Quran and the Sciences of Nature.
The first chapter deals with the Islamic conception of
knowledge. There I have tried to show that Islam's
recommendation for the acquisition of knowledge is not
restricted to the particular teachings of Shariah, but it
applies to any kind of knowledge that is instrumental in
bringing us closer to God. All sciences, whether theological
of physical are means for obtaining proximity to God, and,
as long as they play this role, they are sacred.
In the second chapter, I have tried to spell out the reasons
for the desirability of the physical and natural sciences in
Islamic outlook. there, we find two fundamental reasons for
the significance of there sciences in Islamic world-view:
1) The role of these sciences in knowing God.
2) The role of these sciences in the stability and
glorification of the Muslim `Ummah.
In the third chapter, the Quranic urge for the integration
of science and ethics is discussed.
In the fourth chapter,
we are dealing with reasons for reference to natural
phenomena in the Quran.
The fifth chapter deals with
some basic problems of epistemology from the Quranic
view-point. This is an area in which little work is done,
and here our concern is to stimulate Muslim Scholars to
spend more time and energy on this subject of fundamental
importance.
I hope and pray that these essays
may be a humble aid in stimulation further research in this
area, in the revival of scientific spirit in the `Ummah, and
in promoting scientific knowledge in the Muslim world."
Mehdi Golshani
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