618)A Collection of Posts on my Blog from the Institute of Ismaili Studies, Aga Khan Development Network and Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

"In Shia Islam, intellect is a key component of faith. Intellect allows us to understand the creation of God"(Aga Khan IV, July 23rd 2008, Lisbon, Portugal)

"....AND SHOULD'NT IB SCIENCE STUDENTS not learn about Ibn al-Haytham, the Muslim scholar who developed modern optics, as well as his predecessors Euclid and Ptolemy, whose ideas he challenged.....The legacy which I am describing actually goes back more than a thousand years, to the time when our forefathers, the Fatimid Imam-Caliphs of Egypt, founded Al-Azhar University and the Academy of Knowledge in Cairo. For many centuries, a commitment to learning was a central element in far-flung Islamic cultures. That commitment has continued in my own Imamat through the founding of the Aga Khan University and the University of Central Asia and through the recent establishment of a new Aga Khan Academies Program."(Aga Khan IV, "The Peterson Lecture" on the International Baccalaureate, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 18 April 2008)

"First, the globalisation of the knowledge of the cultures of the Umma is critical. We have to make known the cultural inheritance of the Muslims to the non-Muslim as well as the Muslim parts of the world because we will never succeed in building the respect and recognition that the Umma deserves unless we present the Umma as a remarkable carrier of civilisation.The misconceptions about Islam and Muslims in the West exist because we are, even today, absent from the global civilisation. We should encourage the Western education system to bring in knowledge of the civilisation of Islam into the secondary education system.I am thrilled with the initiative that Dubai and other states in the Gulf are taking by creating museums. Retracing our historical legacies and bringing them back in the modern world is extremely important."(Aga Khan IV, Interview with Gulf News, Dubai, UAE, April 2008)

"For century after century, the Arabs, the Persians, the Turks and many other Islamic societies achieved powerful leadership roles in the world—not only politically and economically but also intellectually. Some ill-informed historians and biased commentators have tried to argue that these successes were essentially produced by military power, but this view is profoundly incorrect"(Aga Khan IV, 2nd December 2006, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan)

"From the seventh century to the thirteenth century, the Muslim civilizations dominated world culture, accepting, adopting, using and preserving all preceding study of mathematics, philosophy, medicine and astronomy, among other areas of learning. The Islamic field of thought and knowledge included and added to much of the information on which all civilisations are founded. And yet this fact is seldom acknowledged today, be it in the West or in the Muslim world, and this amnesia has left a six hundred year gap in the history of human thought"(Aga Khan IV, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA, 1996)

The Muslim world, once a remarkable bastion of scientific and humanist knowledge, a rich and self-confident cradle of culture and art, has never forgotten its past"(Aga Khan IV, 27th May 1994, Cambridge, Massachusets, U.S.A.)

"One of the first and greatest research centres, the Bayt al-Hikmah established in Baghdad in 830, led Islam in translating philosophical and scientific works from Greek, Roman, Persian and Indian classics. By the art of translation, learning was assimilated from other civilizations"(Aga Khan IV, Aga Khan University, 16 March 1983, Karachi, Pakistan)

"It is no exaggeration to say that the original Christian universities of Latin West, at Paris, Bologna and Oxford, indeed the whole European renaissance, received a vital influx of new knowledge from Islam -- an influx from which the later western colleges and universities, including those of North Africa, were to benefit in turn"(Aga Khan IV, 16 March 1983, Aga Khan UNiversity, Karachi, Pakistan)

"The truth, as the famous Islamic scholars repeatedly told their students, is that the spirit of disciplined, objective enquiry is the property of no single culture, but of all humanity. To quote the great physician and philosopher, Ibn Sina: "My profession is to be forever journeying, to travel about the universe so that I may know all its conditions." "(Aga Khan IV, Aga Khan University, 16 March 1983, Karachi, Pakistan)

"The tapestry of Islamic history is studded with jewels of civilization; these jewels poured forththeir light and beauty; great statesmen, great philosophers, great doctors, great astronomers; but these individuals, these precious stones were worked into a tapestry, whose dominant theme was Islam, and this theme remained dominant regardless of the swallowing up of foreign lands, foreign cultures, foreign languages and foreign people"(Aga Khan IV, 30 Jan 1970, Hyderabad, Pakistan)

"In sum the process of creation can be said to take place at several levels. Ibda represents the initial level - one transcends history, the other creates it. The spiritual and material realms are not dichotomous, since in the Ismaili formulation, matter and spirit are united under a higher genus and each realm possesses its own hierarchy. Though they require linguistic and rational categories for definition, they represent elements of a whole, and a true understanding of God must also take account of His creation. Such a synthesis is crucial to how the human intellect eventually relates to creation and how it ultimately becomes the instrument for penetrating through history the mystery of the unknowable God implied in the formulation of tawhid."(Azim Nanji, Director, Institute of Ismaili Studies, London, U.K., 1998)


The above are 11 quotes and excerpts taken from Blogpost Four Hundred, a collection of around 100 quotes on the subjects of Knowledge, Intellect, Creation, Education, Science and Religion:
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/09/400blogpost-four-hundred-knowledge.html




'Ismaili Philosophy' From The Internet Encyclopedia Of Philosophy, By Professor Azim Nanji; Quotes Of Aga Khans IV And Others
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2010/03/578ismaili-philosophy-from-internet.html


Institute Of Ismaili Studies Scholar Dr Nader El-Bizri Advises On Science Museum Exhibition In London, United Kingdom; Quotes Of Aga Khan IV
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2010/03/574institute-of-ismaili-studies-scholar.html


A Collection Of Posts Describing The Philosophical, Theological, Doctrinal, Historical, Scientific And Esoteric Underpinnings Of My Blog.
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2010/02/568a-collection-of-posts-describing.html


Mathematics vs. Physics: Ibn al-Haytham’s Geometrical Conception of Space and the Refutation of Aristotle’s Physical Definition of Place; from IIS
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2010/02/556mathematics-vs-physics-ibn-al.html


Recommended Reading Lists On Various Subjects From The Institute Of Ismaili Studies, London, UK; Quotes From Blogpost Four Hundred.
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2010/02/555recommended-reading-lists-on-various.html


Emulating Ibn Sina and Ibn al-Haytham; Renewing the Impetus of Philosophical Thinking in Islam: Paper presented by IIS's Dr Nader El-Bizri in Iran
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2010/01/540emulating-ibn-sina-and-ibn-al.html


Ibn al-Haytham(Alhazen) Revisited: He Criticised The Theories Of His Predecessors And Revolutionised Mathematical Optics In His Book 'Optics'
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/12/532ibn-al-haythamalhazen-revisited-he.html


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 Ikhwan al-Safa Revisited: The Original Encyclopedists; Quote of Aga Khan IV.
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/11/502the-ikhwan-al-safa-revisited.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


Humanistic Dimension of Islam Embodied By A Large Development Network In Action; Give Rural Communities And Societies A Fair Shake Says Aga Khan
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/04/474humanistic-dimension-of-islam.html


Institute of Ismaili Studies Launches Two Recent Publications In Dubai; Quotes of Aga Khan IV.
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/04/473institute-of-ismaili-studies.html


Institute of Ismaili Studies Scholar, Dr Amyn B. Sajoo, Addresses Muslim Perspectives on Bioethics; Quotes of Aga Khan IV and Aga Khan III.
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/04/466institute-of-ismaili-studies-scholar.html


Ismaili Mail promotes "Epistles of the Brethren of Purity - The Ikhwan Al-Safa’ and Their Rasa’il" with comment by me; Quotes of Aga Khan IV.
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/12/430ismaili-mail-promotes-epistles-of.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


The Length and Breadth of Dr. Azim Nanji's Contributions to the IIS, to the Worldwide Shia Ismaili Muslim Community and Muslim Ummah in General
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/09/409the-length-and-breadth-of-dr-azim.html


Celebrating Dr Azim Nanji of the Institute of Ismaili Studies, my all-time Ismaili intellectual hero in the current era; Quote of Azim Nanji.
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/09/408celebrating-dr-azim-nanji-of.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


A collection of speeches by Aga Khans IV and III, source of some of my doctrinal material on science, religion, creation, knowledge and intellect
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/05/365a-collection-of-speeches-by-aga.html


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


Muslim Philosophy and the Sciences(IIS Review Article); Quotes of Aga Khan IV.
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/02/322muslim-philosophy-and-sciencesiis.html


Al-Azhar: An Ancient Centre of Learning(IIS article); Ibn al-Haytham and the Scientific Method; Quotes of Aga Khan IV
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/01/321al-azhar-ancient-centre-of.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


Pluralism and Ikhwan al-Safa: If society is to start from a premise that knowledge should be foundational, what form should that knowledge take?
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2007/12/267pluralism-and-ikhwan-al-safa-if.html


The Uninterrupted Thread of the Search for Knowledge in the Shia Ismaili Muslim Tradition; Quotes of Aga Khan IV and Hazrat Ali.
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2008/08/391the-uninterrupted-thread-of-search.html


A Collection Of Posts Describing The Ethos Of My Blog On The Link Between Science And Religion In Islam; Quotes Of Aga Khans And Others.
http://gonashgo.blogspot.com/2009/04/463a-collection-of-posts-describing.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)