Routledge Said Nursi and Science in Islam: Character Building through Nursi’s Mana-i harfi (Routledge Studies in Religion)

This book examines how the prominent Muslim scholar Said Nursi developed an integrative approach to faith and science known as "the other indicative" (mana-i harfi) and explores how his aim to reconcile two academic disciplines, often at odds with one another, could be useful in an educational context. The book opens by examining Nursi’s evolving thought with regards to secular ideology and modern science. It then utilizes the mana-i harfi approach to address a number of issues, including truth and certainty, the relationship between knowledge and worldview formation, and the meaning of beings and life. Finally, it offers a seven-dimensional knowledge approach to derive meaning and build good character through understanding scientific knowledge in the mana-i harfi perspective. This book offers a unique perspective on one of recent Islam’s most influential figures, and also offers suggestions for teaching religion and science in a more nuanced way. It is, therefore, a great resource for scholars of Islam, religion and science, Middle East studies, and educational studies. Review "Through its unique perspective and meaning-acquiring (mana-i harfi) approach, this book fills an important gap in scientific literature by making sense out of seemingly senseless natural phenomena. It provides the means to go beyond the visible, and explore the rich and colorful invisible in the backstage. It attempts to compose a cohesive book out of the piles of words of sciences and shows that beings are meaningful sentences. It helps the reader to see the big picture which merges the physical and non-physical realms and guides them to author their own meaningful book of the universe. A must-read book for those trying to find meaning in life and creation." Yunus A. Çengel, Professor Emeritus, University of Nevada, Reno, USA "Dr. Aydin has written a thoughtful, engaging, and solid critique of the concept of character building drawing on Said Nursi's Risale-i Nur. This is the definitive book on this subject; the research is impeccable, the argument intriguing, and the conclusions solid. It will be a landmark text for years to come." The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary, USA "Said Nursi and Science in Islam: Character Building through Nursi’s Mana-i harfi by Necati Aydin is a systematic and thorough analysis on the comprehensive ideas on the nature of science and the Universe and personal secular and spiritual experiences of Said Nursi, one of the most powerful Muslim reformers in modern Islamic world who is still relatively unknown especially among English speaking audience including Muslims. The challenges posed by secular worldview, the various levels of knowledge, realities, and truth and the integrated method --which the author calls tawhīdī--of attaining and teaching them are carefully discussed with the final objective of inculcating a multi-faceted human personality who is deeply God-conscious and able to properly contribute to World Community. This admirable effort by Dr.Aydin on Nursi’s religious interpretation of science is a positive contribution not only for Muslims worldwide in their still unsuccessful attempt at facing the cultural challenges of modernity but also for many others who seem to view committed Islamic discourse such as Islamization from the limited prism of geopolitical and legal perspectives." Wan Mohd Nor WAN DAUD Former Founder and First Director of Center for Advanced Study of Islam, Science and Civilization (CASIS), University of Technology Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. "This engaging addition to the field of pedagogical theory from the pen of Necati Aydin throws much-needed light on the epistemic binary of self-referentiality/Other-indicativeness, which runs like a leitmotif through the works and teachings of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi. Dr Aydin is to be lauded for his timely gift to Muslim scholarship on the relationship between Islam and science