A science can thus be defined as Islamic...

A science can thus be defined as Islamic, Acikgenc states, to the extent to which it conforms to and reflects the cardinal principles of the Islamic worldview.[^39] In a similar way, Nasr insists that 'the aim of all the Islamic sciences -- and more generally speaking, of all the medieval and ancient cosmological sciences --is to show the unity and interrelatedness of all that exists, so that, in contemplating the unity of the cosmos, man may be led to the unity of the Divine Principle, of which the unity of Nature is the image.'[^40] Thus the Islamic sciences of nature function in a two-fold way.

First, they look at nature as a single unity with all of its parts interconnected to each other. Second, they are meant to lead both the scientist and the layman to the contemplation of Nature as the sacred artifact of the Divine.

For Nasr, the sacred cosmology of the Sufis, which is grounded in metaphysics and inspiration rather than physical sciences per se , is related to the second function of the sciences of nature, and maintains its validity even today for it is based on the symbolic significance of the cosmos. This brings us to the other important feature of the Islamic sciences of nature, i.e., their intellectual function. Nasr uses the word 'intellect' in its traditional sense, viz., as related to contemplation.

The modern connotation of the words intellect and intellectual as logical analysis or discursive thinking is the result of the emptying of their metaphysical and mystical content. Having rejected the usage of the word 'intellect' as abstract analysis or sentimentality, Nasr seeks to regain its medieval and traditional usage. '"Intellect" and "intellectual" are so closely identified today with the analytical function of the mind that they hardly bear any longer any relation to the contemplative.

The attitude these words imply toward Nature is the one that Goethe was to deplore as late as the early nineteenth century -- that attitude that resolves, conquers, and dominates by force of concepts. It is, in short, essentially abstract, while contemplative knowledge is at bottom concrete.

We shall thus have to say, by way of establishing the old distinction, that the gnostic's relation to Nature is 'intellective', which is neither abstract, nor analytical, nor merely sentimental.'[^41] Defined as such, the Islamic sciences of nature do not lend themselves to being a means of gaining power and domination over nature.