568)A Collection Of Posts Describing The Philosophical, Theological, Doctrinal, Historical, Scientific And Esoteric Underpinnings Of My Blog.

"The Divine Intellect, Aql-i Kull, both transcends and informs the human intellect. It is this Intellect which enables man to strive towards two aims dictated by the faith: that he should reflect upon the environment Allah has given him and that he should know himself. It is the Light of the Intellect which distinguishes the complete human being from the human animal, and developing that intellect requires free inquiry. The man of faith, who fails to pursue intellectual search is likely to have only a limited comprehension of Allah's creation. Indeed, it is man's intellect that enables him to expand his vision of that creation"(Aga Khan IV, Aga Khan University Inauguration Speech, Karachi, Pakistan, November 11, 1985)

"The Intellect is the substance of (God's) unity and it is the one (al-wahid), both cause and caused, the act of origination (al-ibda) and the first originated being (al-mubda al-awwal); it is perfection and perfect, eternity and eternal, existence and that which exists all in a single substance"( Hamid al-Din al-Kirmani, 11th centuryFatimid Ismaili cosmologist (Kitab al-Riyad, pp. 221-222))

"God – may He be Glorified and Exalted – created Intellect ('aql) first among the spiritual entities; He drew it forth from the right of His Throne, making it proceed from His own Light. Then he commanded it to retreat, and it retreated, to advance, and it advanced; then God proclaimed: 'I created you glorious, and I gave you pre-eminence over all my creatures.'"(Imam Jafar as-Sadiq, Circa 765CE)

"The beginning of all things, their origin, their force and their prosperity, is that intellect ('aql), without which one can profit from nothing. God created it to adorn His creatures, and as a light for them. It is through intellect ('aql) that the servants recognize God is their Creator and that they themselves are created beings …It is thanks to intellect ('aql) that they can distinguish what is beautiful from what is ugly, that they realize that darkness is in ignorance and that light is in Knowledge"( Imam Jafar as-Sadiq, (al-Kulayni, Usul al-Kafi, Vol. 1, pp. 34), circa 765CE)

"According to a famous hadith of the Prophet Muhammad: The first(and only) thing created by God was the Intellect ('aql)(circa 632CE)

http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/09/400blogpost-four-hundred-knowledge.html



In chronological order from most recently posted to least recently posted:

Dr Paul Walker: Abu Ya‘qub al-Sijistani: Intellectual Missionary; Publication of the Institute of Ismaili Studies
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/12/528dr-paul-walker-abu-yaqub-al.html


'The Sciences' from the IIS's 'Muslim Philosophy And The Sciences' by Dr Alnoor Dhanani; Quotes of Aga Khan IV
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/11/507the-sciences-from-iiss-muslim.html


The 19 Grand Ideas Of Science: What Is The Universe Made Up Of And How Does It Operate? Quotes Of Aga Khan IV And Others.
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/11/501-19-grand-ideas-of-science-what-is.html


Blogpost Five Hundred IS Blogpost Four Hundred, The High-Octane Fuel That Powers My Blog On The Link Between Science And Religion In Islam
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/08/500blogpost-five-hundred-is-blogpost.html


Ismaili History by Dr. Farhad Daftary; An Encyclopaedia Article from the Institute of Ismaili Studies, London, United Kingdom.
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/06/488ismaili-history-by-dr-farhad-daftary.html


IIS Academic Paper:Creation in Time in Islamic Thought with Special Reference to Al-Ghazali by Prof Eric L Ormsby;Quotes of Aga Khan IV and Others
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/05/481iis-academic-paper-creation-in-time.html


What Do You Get If You Divide Science By God? A Cosmopolitan Sampling of Opinion;Quotes of Aga Khans IV+ III,Al Sijistani,Nasir Khusraw,Azim Nanji
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/05/477what-do-you-get-if-you-divide.html


A Blog Constructed Within a Scaffolding of the Al Sijistani-Khusraw Cosmological Doctrine and, Everywhere I Turn, There is Blogpost Four Hundred..
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/03/453a-blog-constructed-within.html


Elevating Science, Elevating Democracy: "If we are not practicing good science, we probably aren’t practicing good democracy. And vice versa"
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/01/444elevating-science-elevating.html


Cyclical Time and Sacred History in Medieval Ismaili Thought, By Farhad Daftary; From the Academic Papers Section of the IIS website.
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/10/420cyclical-time-and-sacred-history-in.html


Blogpost Four Hundred and all its earlier incarnations; the Cardinal Post of My Blog on the Link between Science and Religion in Islam
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/10/412blogpost-four-hundred-and-all-its.html


Blogpost Four Hundred, Knowledge, Intellect, Creation, Science and Religion: Comprehensive Quotes of Aga Khan IV and Others; a never-ending post.. http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/09/400blogpost-four-hundred-knowledge.html


Transcendence and Distinction: Metaphoric Process in Isma‘ili Muslim Thought, by Dr Azim Nanji, Director of the Institute of Ismaili Studies. http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/08/397transcendence-and-distinction.html


Nasir Khusraw, another Fatimid Cosmologist-Philosopher-Poet of enormous intellect from the mid-Fatimid era
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/08/390nasir-khusraw-another-fatimid.html


Abu Yakub al-Sijistani: Fatimid Ismaili Cosmologist, Philosopher, Theologian par excellence
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/08/388abu-yakub-al-sijistani-fatimid.html


Intellect and Faith in Shia Ismaili Islam as described on the Preamble to the AKDN website
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/05/361intellect-and-faith-in-shia-ismaili.html


The Science of Religion: reprint of an article from The Economist magazine; quotes of Aga Khan IV and others.
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/03/334the-science-of-religion-reprint-of.html


Allegories in Nature: "....a Cosmos full of signs and symbols that evoke the perfection of Allah's creation and mercy"; Quotes of Aga Khans.
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/03/332allegories-in-nature-cosmos-full-of.html


Muslim Philosophy and the Sciences(IIS Review Article); Quotes of Aga Khan IV. http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/02/331muslim-philosophy-and-sciencesiis.html


"The learning of mathematics was therefore linked to the Muslim religion and developing an understanding of the world...."; Quotes of Aga Khan IV
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/01/319the-learning-of-mathematics-was.html


The uninterrupted thread of the search for knowledge of all types.
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/01/306the-uninterrupted-thread-of-search.html


The Death of Science in Islam/What have we forgotten in Islam?-COMBO DELIGHT
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/01/305the-death-of-science-in-islamwhat.html



Easy Nash
http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/science_and_religion_in_islam_the_link/
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/08/500blogpost-five-hundred-is-blogpost.html
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/03/453a-blog-constructed-within.html

In Shia Islam, intellect is a key component of faith. Intellect allows us to understand the creation of God: Aga Khan IV(2008)
The Qur'an itself repeatedly recommends Muslims to become better educated in order better to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
The Quran tells us that signs of Allah's Sovereignty are found in the contemplation of His Creation: Aga Khan IV(2007)
This notion of the capacity of the human intellect to understand and to admire the creation of Allah will bring you happiness in your everyday lives: Aga Khan IV(2007)
Islam, eminently logical, placing the greatest emphasis on knowledge, purports to understand God's creation: Aga Khan IV(2006)
The Holy Qu'ran's encouragement to study nature and the physical world around us gave the original impetus to scientific enquiry among Muslims: Aga Khan IV(1985)
The first and only thing created by God was the Intellect(Aql): Prophet Muhammad(circa 632CE)