al-Nazariyat al-Ilmiyya al-Haditha Masiratuha al-Fikriyya wa Uslub al-Fikr al-Taghribi al-Arabi fi al-Taamul Maaha Dirasa Naqdiyya
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- Markaz al-Ta'ṣīl lil-Dirāsāt wal-Buḥūth
al-Nazariyat al-Ilmiyya al-Haditha: Masiratuha al-Fikriyya wa-Uslub al-Fikr al-Taghribi al-Arabi fi al-Taamul Maaha (Modern Scientific Theories: Their Intellectual Trajectory and the Arab Westernizing Thought's Method of Dealing with Them – A Critical Study) is a two-volume theological study by Hasan al-Asmari examining the ideological background of modern scientific theories and critiquing their reception among contemporary Arab Westernizing intellectuals .
Background and Scope
The book originated as a doctoral dissertation submitted under the title Ta'thir al-Nazariyat al-Ilmiyya al-Haditha fi al-Fikr al-Taghribi al-Mu'asir: Dirasa Naqdiyya fi Daw' al-Aqida al-Islamiyya (The Impact of Modern Scientific Theories on Contemporary Westernizing Thought: A Critical Study in Light of Islamic Creed) .
The work aims to document how Westernizing thinkers adopted modern scientific theories, investigate the causes behind deviations that accompanied the rise of modern science in Europe, and evaluate the theological and methodological impact of applying these theories and empirical frameworks to Islamic doctrine and jurisprudence . It categorizes the deviations associated with modern science into two main forms: theories that directly contradict religious tenets or philosophical systems built on them, and the misapplication of empirical methods outside their physical and observational scope to religious matters .
Structure
The book comprises an introduction, three main parts (abwāb), and a concluding chapter:
- Part One: The Emergence of Deviations Associated with the Modern Scientific Movement and Their Appearance in the Islamic World (Nash'at al-Inhirafat al-Murtabita bi-Harakat al-Ilm al-Hadith wa-Zuhuruha fi al-Alam al-Islami): Spanning five chapters, this part defines the modern scientific revolution, outlines the historical factors behind the secularization of science in the West, traces how these developments entered Islamic lands, and analyzes the three major intellectual responses in the Muslim world—the Salafi trend seeking Islamic grounding (ta'sil), the modernist ('asrani) trend attempting conciliation, and the Westernizing (taghribi) trend .
- Part Two: Methodological Influence on Westernizing Thought from Deviations Accompanying Modern Science (al-Ta'athur al-Manhaji fi al-Fikr al-Taghribi bi-l-Inhiraf al-Musahib li-l-Ilm al-Hadith): Divided into three chapters addressing epistemic sources and methods of inference, approaches to the unseen and creed (al-ghayb), and approaches to practical legal issues (al-shari'a) .
- Part Three: False Claims and Deviant Theories Regarding Religion and Science in Westernizing Thought (Suwar li-Da'awa Batila wa-Nazariyat Munharifa Zaharat fi al-Fikr al-Taghribi Hawl al-Din wa-l-Ilm wa-Khuturatuha): Examines claims of the secularization of science, the alleged contradiction between religion and modern science, and the notion of science's total sufficiency, followed by critical appraisals of the influence of Darwinian evolution, psychological theories, and sociological models on the understanding of religion .
Methodological Stances and Findings
Al-Asmari argues that there is no inherent hostility between Islam and verified scientific facts, emphasizing that the historical emergence of empirical methodologies drew heavily on developments within Islamic civilization before their later trajectory in Western thought . He contends that the conflict between science and religion in the West was the product of specific historical conditions—primarily the conflict with the Church—which led to the secularization of science and the exclusion of divine revelation (al-wahy) from epistemic sources .
The study critiques Arab Westernizing intellectuals for uncritically importing Western secular epistemologies and utilizing scientific theories to reinterpret or dismiss Islamic creed and legal statutes . It also critiques modernist reconciliatory efforts for overextending figurative interpretation (ta'wil) to align sacred texts with ever-shifting scientific hypotheses .
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