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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Interview: the Meaning, Scope, and Future of Islamic Sciences [Text of Interview] Iqbal: Aslamu ʿalaykum . Nasr: Wa ʿalaykum as-salām Dr. Iqbal, how are you? Iqbal: Al-ḥamdu Lillah . Finally, the spring is here, and birds are singing. Nasr: I always think of you sitting up there in the cold, surrounded by vast white land… Iqbal: Yes, most of the time, it is like that, but now trees have new leaves and it is simply amazing to watch this metamorphosis.

Nasr: Al-ḥamdu Lillah . You wanted to talk about Islamic Sciences , I am at your service; next hour is yours. Iqbal: Jazāk Allah . What I had in mind is a range of issues related to Islamic Sciences . As you know, we have changed the name of the journal from Islam & Science to Islamic Sciences after due consultation with the Advisory Board and I wanted to discuss with you the scope of the Islamic sciences , both historically and their prospects today, in the traditional Muslim lands and beyond.

The issues I hope we can address in this conversation range from the definition of Islamic science to the trajectory of this discipline in the Western academy, but we can let the conversation flow on its own. Perhaps you might begin by providing some definitions of these terms.

Nasr: The question of what “Islamic science” means, when we are using the English language and trying at the same time to remain faithful to the Islamic understanding of the subject, is somewhat problematic and difficult because the word “science” in English does not have the same connotations as the word ʿilm in Arabic and some other Islamic languages. Even within the European languages, English usage of the word is particularly limited.

It is spelled the same as it is in French, but the French la science (Latin scientia ) has much broader meanings. For instance, in America if you ask someone, “What are you studying at college,” and the person says, “I am studying science,” one understands by this physics, chemistry, biology, or other natural sciences.

But if they are studying at the Sorbonne or the University of Paris, and respond using the word la science , that could also mean moral sciences-a term first used by Hume in his Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals , and referring to the systematic study of human nature and relationships.