An Introduction to Islamic Cosmological Doctrines: Conceptions of Nature and Methods Used for Its Study by the Ikhwan Al-Safa, Al-Biruni, and Ibn Si

Ouvrage intéressant présentant les doctrines cosmologiques des Ikhwan al staffa, Al-Biruni et Avicenne. 3 points de vues avec une approche différente pour chacun. Les ikhwan al-saffa tout en étant philosophes utilisent également le dévoilement intuitif propre aux soufis (kashf) tel Ibn-arabi, tandis que les deux autres ne sont pas connus (ou reconnus) comme étant des maître spirituels, Al-biruni et Avicenne utilisent l'héritage aristotélicien et néoplatonicien pour forger leur doctrine en matière de cosmologie et Nature (tel qu'ils l'entendent). On voit à quel point les milieux traditionnels utilisent les mêmes références dans leur cosmologie tandis que la science moderne ne se contente que de ce qui est "sensible" et "grossier".

B E A U T I F U L book on Islam and the many influences of Islamic Mysticism (Sufism) in how we view the world. We've been going over it in our Avicenna (Ibn Sina) seminar - "The Prince of Medicine" & initiator of canonical western medicine; however, with a deeply eastern & ancient metaphysics at its roots... Often makes me wonder why we've lost so much in modern medicine!? Whilst Europe was declining in its medieval dark ages, the active spiritual / intellectual milleau of eastern and oriental thought (rather, "heart") was really an amazing time. Europe colonization was spreading far & wide, the beginnings of materialism and religious (spiritual) divisions of war mongering egos; yet eastern cultures were integrating & deepening their appreciation of spiritual phenomena into daily life, philosophy, and medicine... The western fronts led into an ever widening Cartesian dualism (mind/body, church/state); with wisdom & philosophy held for the aristocracy; when the eastern cultures were humbled by lessons learned from their past; having abused their own powers, and now having learned, they respected and learned from the most illiterate who were their saints - as early as 600BC (Cyrus the Great), with a constitution that outlawed slavery and brought equality. One wonders what will it take to humble the western fronts of thought (heart), and their arrogance of conquering and saving the world!? Then again, within the eastern milieu there is always unrest of tribal feuds!!! Perhaps as Avicenna taught, we need to learn of the rising Sun (east), its continuum and completion, to its setting (west); which is also the rising within the heart, and its setting in the mind, whilst remaining settled in the heart. The "heart" of unrest, in unrest! And a deceived mind! Neither works. Then there is the truth in each, and a continuum of lessons within. Cheers!

This book is for those with "higher" education. Professor Nasr quotes frequently directly from the French, often from the Arabic and occasionally from the German. Without at least passive understanding of French one would miss out on some important information.In a way the book shows a descent from the Brethren of Purity through Al-Biruni to Ibn Sina. Professor Nasr has faithfully treated an often complex and difficult subject matter without over-simplification but also without getting lost, using Tawhid as a compass.There are, however, some underlying basic issues that Professor Nasr might have dealt with in more depth. The first one is the symbolic nature of what is called the "physical universe", even more apparent since the middle ages. Without any apologetics, Professor Nasr could compare say Ibn Sina's Weltanschauung with the post-Keplerian or even post-Einsteinian from a pure traditional perspective.Another welcome topic would have been an interweaving of the development of Islamic cosmology with the cyclical descent of the Iron Age, also known as Kali Yuga. Humans of the Golden Age needed no revealed Books. In this sense, although the traditions with revealed Books, the Islamic tradition being the last of them, close the cycle, they also mark its lowest spiral.Thus, Professor Nasr seems to lose sight a bit of the Primordial Tradition in favour of the Islamic one but the latter, of course, is the subject matter of the book.For those interested in profound approaches to the subject of cosmology, an excellent complement to Professor Nasr's work may be found in: Miscellanea (Guenon, Rene. Works.) in particular the article entitled "The Conditions of Corporeal Existence" beginning on page 88. Readers should bear in mind that this English version is a translation from the French original. Miscellanea (Guenon, Rene. Works.)

Fantastic book well written informative but detailed at the same time!!