​Seyyed Nasr 

(1933 to present)
​

In the video Seyyed Nasr is interviewed by the journalist Bill Moyers on Islam's approach to nature.  The interview occurred at a now-famous conference on Spirit and Nature held at Middlebury College (Vermont, USA) in 1991.  Scroll forward to 10 minutes, 50 seconds.  The interview lasts twelve minutes.  The interview with Nasr, and the video as a whole, is an excellent resource for the classroom and for group discussion.

Introduction to Essay on Seyyed Nasr by Md. Abu Sayem **
​

With roots in traditional Islamic spirituality and philosophy, Seyyed Hossein Nasr’s eco-philosophy has special significance for contemporary people in many nations as they -- we -- seek to recover ecological equilibrium, spiritually and material, with the natural world.  Nasr is University Professor of Islamic Studies at George Washington University.  The author of over fifty books and five hundred articles, he is one of the world’s most respected writers and speakers on Islam, its arts and sciences, and its traditional mystical path, Sufism.  In the interview above, and in the essay by Abu Sayem below, Nasr shows how a traditional Islamic approach to life both challenges and moves beyond secular, western approaches to nature, which reduce nature to a mere commodity for use, or a mere object of the intellect.  Building upon the perennial wisdom of traditions so often neglected by western, post-renaissance modernity, Nasr invites us to reclaim a sense of the sacred in nature and our own place in the more than human world.  We are encouraged (1) to see the whole of nature as a reflection of the divine, (2) to rediscover a "paradisial abode" that dwells within the heart when it lives from faith;  and (3) to build towns and cities out of this awareness.  The traditional Islamic town provides a model. 

Open Horizons is grateful to Md. Abu Sayem for offering this introduction to Nasr's perspective.  For those of us inspired by hopes for ecological civilizations around the world, Nasr offers what we would call a "constructively postmodern" approach to the world,  It is postmodern, not in the sense of abandoning tradition, but rather in the sense of reclaiming tradition in a world too often preoccupied with novelty at the expense of depth, information at the expense of wisdom, natural science at the expense of spiritual science, calculation at the expense of prayer, instrumental reason at the expense of faith.  We live in a world that has forgotten its roots in something deeper, the sacred, in the divine.  Nasr helps us remember.

-- Jay McDaniel (Editor, Open Horizons; Center for Process Spirituality)

​
​The Eco-Philosophy of Seyyed Hossein Nasr:
​Spiritual Crisis and Environmental Degradation*
 
Md. Abu Sayem
​University of Dhaka (Bangladesh)

 
Introduction
​
Seyyed Hossein Nasr (1933-present)[1] is a well-known Muslim philosopher and Islamic scholar. He sees environmental issues from a very deeply rooted level of spiritual, religious and philosophical understanding. Nasr’s intellectual contributions are based on what he and others consider the perennial wisdom of forgotten truths, deeply religious and deeply relevant.  [2] Having considered the present ecological crisis as a spiritual crisis of modern humans,[3] Nasr works toward developing a spiritual feeling in the human mind for a natural world. Modern worldview is highly attached with the secular approaches to nature, where there is no place for a spiritual thought. Spirituality mostly comes from religious traditions, and the modern scientific worldview negates such knowledge treasures which could pave the way to grow a kind of awareness and deep attachment with the natural world, and thus, to motivate humans to prevent the present ecological crisis from further damage. On the other hand, the traditional way of education and understanding, where there was a scope for spiritual teaching, have disappeared from the world, which makes a very challenging issue for spirituality and growing spiritual feelings for nature. Without a deep spiritual feeling for nature no human can work for the sustainability of the environment. The issue of spirituality in relation with the environment remains largely unexplored in the academic world. In line with this timely needed issue, Nasr attempts to focus some points of it from traditional religious understanding. In some ways, Nasr has successfully integrated religious spirituality with the natural world and tried to show a potential correlation between environmental degradation and spiritual crisis.

Though he is educated and trained in modern science, philosophy, and history; he always prefers to deal with the current issues from a traditional view point and from very spiritual insight.[4] Instead of a scientific approach to nature, he emphasizes on traditional approach; even in this regard he claims himself as a traditionalist.[5] He is very much a critic of secular humanism, mechanistic science and anthropocentric understanding of nature. Nasr’s works have received responses from some academicians in the field of humanities and social sciences. Being influenced by Nasr’s seminal works on environmental issues,[6] some contemporary scholars, for example Wersal, Beringer, Saniotis, Murad, Mevorach, Quadir, Grith, Clark, Shah-Kazemi, Bakar, and Sayem among others, produced certain significant contributions[7] on Nasr by connecting his understanding of nature with the present ecological crisis. Based on these primary and secondary resource materials this paper tries to explore how the environment is attached with religious spirituality in Nasr’s view and why Nasr’s eco-philosophical approach seems significant to address the present environmental problem. It also investigates the validity of Nasr’s arguments by contextualizing with the present environmental degradation.
 
Traditional Wisdoms in Nasr’s Eco-Philosophical Understanding of Nature

Usually the term “tradition” implies a set of beliefs, customs, attitudes, behaviours, stories, etc., that are transmitted from one generation to another generation. By a process of continuation, it connects the past with the present. Like a mirror, it reflects the treasury of knowledge of the eventful past and reminds the present generation about it. Tradition is an inseparable part of human civilization. Throughout the history of the human race, tradition is valued as a source of guidance and a supporting idea for human progressiveness, but unfortunately from the European Enlightened Age of the 17th and 18th centuries (CE 1620 to CE 1781)[8] it is viewed in opposition to modernity and progressive thoughts. It is true that traditional experiences and knowledge cannot support uncontrolled human activities in the name of human comfort, because it focuses on a balancing way of life. For further clarification about it, let us see how Nasr understands the term. Nasr has not used the term “tradition” in its general understanding, he has focused its eternal principles for human guidance, which are carried through traditions, whereas he states:

“… by “tradition” we do not mean habit or custom or the automatic transmission of ideas and motifs from one generation to another, but rather a set of principles which have descended from Heaven and which are identified at their origin with a particular manifestation of the Divine along with the application and deployment of these principles of different moments of time and in different conditions for a particular humanity”.[9]

In another place, Nasr sees tradition “as encompassing principles and truths of a sacred origin along with their unfolding application and manifestation”.[10] For Nasr, tradition is not an “outmoded mythology”, rather it “is rooted in the nature of Reality”.[11] In his view, tradition is “a living continuity” which carries “the science of Ultimate Reality”.[12] Furthermore, for him, “it is the call from the Center which alone can allow humans to return from the rim to the Center”.[13] Though Nasr never compares traditions with the revelations, it is argued that traditions were reflected and manifested by the revelations. The value of traditional wisdoms, as Nasr argues, is enormous, which cannot be underestimated by profane or secular sciences which only deal with a shadow of the reality, for these sciences cannot grasp the absolute real beyond the appearances that are relatively real, while traditional sciences can go beyond the visible and sensible appearance of the reality and can perceive the absolute Real or the ultimate Reality. Thus, being convinced and enlightened by wisdom traditions,[14] Nasr has based his works on traditions, despite his educational orientation with modern science.[15]

In his works,[16] Nasr always emphasizes traditional wisdoms and metaphysical significance of nature with regard to environmental sustainability. Nasr argues that the traditional worldview of nature was based on metaphysical understanding, where humans were seen as deeply connecting with God and the natural world. Unlike the modern scientific understanding, traditional wisdoms can present humans as owners of the world, but instead these remind humans that they are just a part of nature and they should take care of it. While the modern scientific worldview of nature sees nature as a machine, traditional worldview of nature considers nature like a living body.[17] A spiritual feeling for the natural world is found in traditional wisdoms,[18] which is essential for being sympathetic to non-human animals. When humans can realize that they are not foreign to the order of nature, they cannot perform any activity which massively affects the natural system. Nasr reiterates that a pure metaphysical doctrine of nature can revive a spiritual conception of nature.

Nasr regrettably notes that modern humans are disconnected from their spiritual contemplation and treat such spiritual attachments as superstitions or backwarded aspects of human life and experience. Nasr considers such transformation – from a spiritual, insightful view to secular outlook – as a suicidal step of human civilization.[19] In many places of his works,[20] Nasr labels such problems as a spiritual crisis of modern humans. For him, a spiritual worldview that lies in traditional religions can save humans from this pervasive crisis.[21] In Nasr’s view, though international religious traditions are different (externally) from one another, they can cooperate and enhance traditional value systems and spiritual feelings for natural world in their own ways;[22] so, there is an urgent need for a unity among them in this regard. Nasr does not ignore the role of any authentic religious and cultural traditions of the world in formation of a viable human civilization and environmental sustainability.

In Nasr’s view, if humans want to save themselves from environmental catastrophe, they will have to rediscover their broken relationship with God and nature.[23] In this context, Nasr sees Eastern religious and cultural traditions – Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism, and the Eastern form of Christianity – as helpful resources for revitalizing intimacy between humans and nature.[24] For him, these Eastern traditions still carry metaphysical significance of the natural world,[25] and can help the Western traditions, especially the Latin form of Christianity, to be closer to the natural world.[26] Nasr also requests Christians to revive the metaphysical tradition within Christianity, for the Western version of Christianity has lost this tradition. Here, Nasr argues, Islam can offer more help to Western Christianity[27] because Islam comes from the same Abrahamic faith root.

After identifying the root cause of the present ecological crisis, Nasr presents some suggestions for addressing the present environmental problems. His suggestions are deeply rooted in the spiritual and philosophical understanding of the human-nature relationship. Nasr advocates realizing a deeper spiritual attachment with the natural environment, which is commonly found in all traditional sciences and religions, so he chooses the traditional ways of understanding the environment and promotes rediscovering the traditional cosmological understanding of nature, which is almost lost and replaced by the modern scientific worldview of nature. Some highlights of his traditional worldview of nature are discussed below.
 
Sacred Science

The term “sacred science” is the English translation of the Latin scientia sacra. Nasr connects this term with metaphysical knowledge and its application to the natural world. In Nasr’s view, metaphysics deals with the Divine Principles which are the basic sources of knowledge. For Nasr, this knowledge is “at the very center of man’s being as well as at the heart of all orthodox and authentic religions”.[28] In Nasr’s view, this is not mundane knowledge because of its sacred characteristic, but because of its supreme knowledge. This knowledge is attainable only by true intellect with a deep spiritual contemplation.[29] This knowledge comes from the ultimate Reality or the supreme Unity which is itself sacred,[30] so it is sacred science which Nasr illustrates as “the science of the Real”.[31] In other words, it is the wisdom that implies the supreme knowledge about the reality. For Nasr, the metaphysical ground of sacred science is God and the world of the spirit.[32]

Sacred science never separates nature from the human, intimate relationship, because nature is seen sacred in it. Modern science is purely based on the human rationalization process, and it has no relation with spirituality. By becoming very standardized and reductionist, modern scientists do not talk about the sacred character of nature and non-visible spirits beyond all components of nature.  Nasr differentiates the sacred science from traditional sciences, occultism and other forms of superstitious knowledge. Nasr calls modern science as profane science or secular science, because a scientific understanding ignores religious contemplation and spiritual feelings.

 For meeting the present ecological crisis, Nasr reiterates reviving the sacred science[33] and he believes that only through the revival of sacred science is it possible to rediscover and reconnect the sacredness with the natural environment. If nature is felt sacred through such a deeper understanding, humans can show their due respect to nature, which will motivate them finally to give more priority to the protection of the environment.
 
Traditional Sciences

Nasr considers traditional sciences as beneficial knowledge. These sciences are not purely based on metaphysical principles as sacred sciences are, but unlike modern science, they are divorced from the principle order of metaphysics. Nasr shows how all traditional civilizations cultivated these sciences in the past before the seventeenth century.[34]

Nasr distinguishes traditional sciences from social, juridical and theological knowledge of past civilizations.[35] In some ways, these sciences can be compared with occultism because of their deep relation with some esoteric dimensions, but they should not be called superstitious beliefs or social prejudices.[36] For Nasr, these sciences were cultivated by some sages who had the required spiritual and intellectual capacity to predict, but they did not follow an occultism.

Traditional sciences are not fully sacred sciences because these sciences were associated with human speculations; however, they had a clear connection with sacred science. Nasr makes it clear that thoughts of Pliny, Strabon, Brahmagupta and al-Biruni cannot be considered as sacred science.[37] There are basic differences between traditional science and modern science. In Nasr’s view, in traditional science the profane is marginal and the sacred is central, but in modern science the profane is central and the sacred is powerless.[38]  Furthermore, Nasr distinguishes:

“The traditional sciences are essentially sacred and accidently profane, and modern science essentially profane and only accidentally aware of the sacred quality of the universe and, even in such rare instances, unable to accept the sacred as the sacred. Modern science shares fully the characteristic of modern man as a creature who has lost the sense of the sacred”.[39]

In traditional science, the physical world is seen as the lowest domain of reality while the spiritual world is seen as the highest domain of reality, but in profane science the physical world is seen as the highest domain of reality while there is no value of the spiritual world.[40] Traditional sciences are aware of the Divine Origin of the world while the modern science does not believe in such a divine origin, but instead talks about the materialistic origin of the physical world.[41] Traditional doctrines talk about the paradisal perfection of human beings with the help of the Creator but modern science talks about the evolution of human species in the future. In traditional sciences, the human is seen as a totality of body, mind, soul and spirit; so, it covers the human’s physical, mental, and spiritual needs. In modern science, only the human’s physical body is considered; so, it only highlights its physical needs.[42]
With showing certain distinctions between traditional sciences and profane sciences, Nasr argues that the traditional scientific understandings are more relevant to address the present ecological crisis, because it promotes a participatory view and a deeper understanding of the human-nature relationship. Thus, by criticizing the very foundation of profane science, Nasr proves the value of traditional science from a holistic vision. 
 
Spiritual Feeling for Nature and the Environment

Nasr states the ecological crisis as a spiritual crisis of modern humans.[43] In his view, modern humans have forgotten totally to feel that they are a part and parcel of nature, and that they are just a microcosmic part of the macrocosmic universe. In modern education, world-order, and the modern social system, there is no scope to talk about a value of spirituality. Regrettably, spirituality is considered a matter of superstition in the modern worldview, which keeps humans reluctant to a way of spiritual feeling. As a result, one sort of emptiness is created in human mind that is not being met by the current modern lifestyle. Nasr argues, humans consist of both a material body and a spiritual mind; their bodily functions deal with worldly affairs while their mind connects with emotion and romanticism for something with this present world and beyond.

For Nasr, a human can never be a complete human being by rejecting an essential part of the formation of his own existence. Even humans cannot feel peace with an unlimited economic prosperity and military power if their spiritual mind is not free from mental conflict. Modern humans want to be happy with apparent substances, but they are failing to feel peace in their hearts, because they cannot realize that happiness is a relative thing, which is mostly connected with the human mind rather than economic prosperity. In Nasr’s view, peace cannot be achieved until humans can maintain peace with nature.[44] The real peace lies, as Nasr argues, in a harmonious relationship between the earth and heavens;[45] when inhabitants of the earth, i.e., humans, can establish a deeper connection with the spiritual beings of the heavens in accordance with the divine commandments of the Supreme Being, only then will peace be achievable.

As Nasr understands that the present ecological crisis has a spiritual crisis from the side of modern humans, he suggests a revolutionary reformation in human thought with regard to the natural world. Nasr proposes feeling for nature in the human spiritual mind, which can motivate humans to bring a substantial change in the present form of economic activities and power practicing competitions between and among nations. Without a deep spiritual attachment with nature, other activities will work superficially for the time being. To work toward a permanent solution with regard to ecological sustainability, humans need to revitalize a spiritual mind for the non-human world.

For Nasr, in some ways, modern humans talk about the ecological crisis but they do not keep themselves away from avoiding such things which are creating the problems for the planetary environment.[46] Nasr describes such things experienced by modern humans as a dilemma,[47] which is created by a lack of spiritual feeling for the environment where humans do not have a deep intimacy with every component of natural world. Until this kind of spiritual feeling for the environment returns in human heart, the ecological crisis continues.
 
Religious Spirituality

For Nasr, religious spirituality promotes a spiritual feeling for the environment around humans, so modern humans should come back to it. In Nasr’s view, every authentic religious tradition of the world imposes some obligations over its followers for spiritual contemplation, which should be followed by practitioners with a due emphasis. Even textual indications of religious scriptures in regard to the natural world cannot even be somewhat understandable without a deep spiritual thought. All founders of religions were spiritual persons and they emphasized spirituality first. So, without spirituality, religion cannot work and without religious spirituality, common people cannot come to a way of spiritual outlook. If humans are to address ecological crisis in a more effective way, a religious spiritual feeling for nature should be promoted as an influential agent.[48]

In Nasr’s view, a bond between sacred and profane, between spirit and nature, and the Creator and the created, can be possible through a religious spirituality. It is spirituality which talks about the ultimate unity of all things. A very simple religious spiritual teaching motivates humans to consider themselves in others, which can create a participatory and cooperative approach.[49] If humans just think about their own creation, they can easily understand that in their bodily formation there are many compound amalgamations of natural objects that came into being through a geochemical process, which implies that humans are inside nature and nature is inside humans. This understanding will automatically plant the concept in human mind that there is an inseparable and inevitable relationship between humans and non-human creatures alongside all biotic and abiotic organisms of the environment. Nasr promotes humans to grasp nature in this way, and hopes that such realization can prevent humans from exploiting the natural environment in the name of endless human comfort.
 
Religious Worldviews of Nature

Nasr mentions that the modern human has abandoned a fundamental principle of religious worldviews[50] which is commonly found in ancient China with the form of the Tao, in Hinduism with rita, in Buddhism with dharma, in ancient Greece with nomos, and in Islam with shariah.[51] Along with this, the same religious fundamental principle is manifested in different names at different religious traditions, but these different names reveal the same reality, i.e., order or law according to which all things are being governed.[52] In Nasr’s words, this religious fundamental principle is the core formation of cosmology. The religious worldview shows a deep relationship between humans and the natural world in terms of following the same law. Humans should follow the law of nature in the way it is being followed by others. Nasr implores modern humans to adapt traditional religious views of nature, whereas he satiates:

 “We must realize that the traditional religious wisdom applies to us as much as it did to our remote ancestors, and that humanity must be seen, as it once was, as an inseparable part of the natural world, as God’s creation and subject to the same divinely ordained laws that must be observed if we are to maintain its fundamental order”.[53]

Thus, by connecting the essence of world religions, Nasr argues that religious views are in favor of ecology. In religious understanding, nature is not seen alien or foreign to humans as modern scientific worldviews consider it, but rather it is viewed as a living organism. Furthermore, religious beliefs connect angels, spirits, or souls with the natural world. For Nasr, if humans can see nature with this deep realization, they cannot accept the scientific worldview of nature, which has developed a mechanistic-materialistic approach to the environment. Thus, in opposition to the secular view of nature, Nasr promotes the religious worldview of nature for environmental sustainability.
 
Challenging and Changing the Modern Scientific Worldview of Nature

For a better clarification of the deeply rooted ecological crisis, Nasr compares the present environmental problems with a cancer patient.[54] In his view, it is not possible to hail a patient from cancerous substances by pouring powder on his/her face, so it is with a cosmetic step in regard to the present environmental problem. By this analogy, Nasr makes clear that as pouring powder cannot save the patient, similarly, a cosmetic step cannot protect the environment, whereas Nasr states: “That is why simple cosmetics and good engineering will not in themselves solve the environmental crisis”.[55] For Nasr, until a revolutionary transformation in the understanding of the natural world and the human, inescapable relationship with it, there will not be a significant improvement for environmental sustainability. Nasr argues, by challenging the present scientific worldview of nature, a deep transformation of the current perception can pave the road for a required reformed action plan.

Nasr notes an event of the Quran[56] when one day a wise man came to a boat and made a hole at the bottom so that it could be saved from stealing or snatching by a mighty king.[57] The work of the wise man here may seem illogical for making a defect inside the boat which sank it down, but by doing this he could save the boat of a poor man from stealing or snatching. He thought that it would be better to let the boat sink down for a while from where the owner can retrieve it again, but if it is captured by a tyrant king the owner would never regain it. In this way, the wise man saved the boat, and he did not destroy it, in fact. By mentioning this analogy, Nasr tries to make clear that in the way the wise man could change the course of the boat and save it from being robbed, similarly, there is an urgent need to change the course of the modern scientific worldview of nature.

Immediate practical measurements and steps are fine and appreciable. In this regard, Nasr mentions the example of Istanbul and appreciates the action of the government in the energy conversion used by the cars driving in the city. Nasr sees that with a transformation initiative in the energy system the quality of air can be improved, but it needs a long-term energy efficiency policy. Though such immediate steps based on technological or economic policies can bring a temporary solution, these cannot work for a permanent solution until changing the present scientific worldview of nature, as Nasr states: “So I am in favor of all immediate solutions on a technological or economic level, but I do not believe that is going to solve the crisis if we insist on pursuing our present courses”.[58] In another place, Nasr echoes the same idea:

“There are technologies which can reduce pollution, but I do not believe that those technologies alone will save us from this crisis. We have to have an inner transformation. We have to have another way of looking at ourselves, at what the purpose of human life is, at what satisfies us, what makes us happy, and not turn over to consumption as the only way to be happy, seeking satiation of our never-ending thirst and satisfaction of endless wants that are then turned into needs.”[59]
 
For Nasr, the permanent solution for the ecological crisis lies in a revolutionary reformation of the present mechanistic-materialistic perception of the natural world. This movement, as Nasr insists, is inevitable for ecological sustainability, which must be directed toward the spiritual and participatory worldview of nature.[60] Such reformation will not occur until modern humans are well informed about the essentiality of an ecological equilibrium for the existence of life. They should learn how to give priority for a holistic view of existence of all living forms in the environment over a reductionist view of human life and comfort. In Nasr’s view, these realizations come from “the religious-spiritual knowledge of nature”,[61] which should be considered essential for diverting the present secular view of nature to the spiritual view of nature.

Nasr states the modern scientific worldview of nature as a serious tragedy for ecology,[62] because this world view makes humans “the measure of all things”.[63] This view hails from the secular humanism of the renaissance era. It is a completely anthropocentric approach which is deadly against theocentric, bio-centric or eco-centric approaches. This view places humans in the place of God, because humans, not God, are the center of all things. Thus, God is replaced by humans, and nature is considered as a servant to them. An example of such an attitude is clearly found in the utilization of technology and scientific experimentation during which there is no minimum consideration to the interest of the natural world. Nasr states technology as a murderer of nature when it is used without one thinking of its bad impact on nature. As a consequence of the irresponsible use of technology, plants and animals are dying; water, air, and soil are being polluted, global warming is getting worse, and the ozone layer is being depleted, which eventually presents us with climate change and the ecological crisis. These happenings are deeply connected with the modern scientific worldview, which only considers the earthy welfare of humans and ignores the welfare of other non-human creatures. The modern lifestyle, that is based on the modern scientific worldview, is very much consumerist where nothing is sacrificed for the natural world. Therefore, Nasr coins this approach of the scientific worldview as very selfish and mentions it as a good enough reason to destroy the world. So, Nasr reiterates changing the self-destructive modern scientific worldview of nature in order to protect the planetary environment from further destruction.
 
Religious Understanding of the Cosmos and Sacred Cosmology

Nasr criticizes the modern reductionist scientists who distance cosmology[64] from its original meaning, according to which it does not articulate the phenomenal reality with the metaphysical discourse.[65] For Nasr, cosmology is a science that deals with all orders of natural reality through a deeper understanding of metaphysics.[66] It connects revelation and metaphysical doctrines in its scientific analysis on the orders of nature and all other physical realities. Nasr calls it sacred cosmology,[67] according to which it is believed that physical worlds originate from spiritual worlds and are sustained by spiritual worlds.[68] The physical worlds cannot exist independently of spiritual worlds. The spiritual world is associated with a single Divine Reality though “it is in itself unknowable”.[69] In the view of sacred cosmology, humans are seen as an intermediary level between physical worlds and spiritual worlds, which implies one important objective of human life in regard to upholding the cosmic order in their understanding and feeling.[70] Human souls are nothing but the vessel of the Divine.[71] Nasr argues that real cosmology cannot deal with the material and corporeal stages of existence without linking revelation to it. Nasr notes, when secular scientists removed the revelation from cosmology, it lost its sacred character and granted humans a naked license to exploit nature. To reverse this situation, Nasr gives an emphasis on the religious understanding of cosmology instead of the secular scientific understanding.

Nasr emphasizes the understanding of Earth and cosmos (Heaven) from traditional metaphysical, especially cosmological, perspectives.[72] For Nasr, the study of the order of nature in different religions shows the infinite richness of the Divine Nature.[73] Furthermore, Nasr states: “All religions relate the order of nature to the order within human beings and envisage both orders as bearing the imprint of the Divine Reality, which is the Origin of both man and nature”.[74] He argues that knowledge of the whole universe does not lie in science but in metaphysics,[75] which is enriched by the divine knowledge of all authentic religious traditions of the world.[76] Nasr suggests adapting the various forms of knowledge and placing them within their boundaries.[77] But it is not possible in modern science, because it has closed the door for such options. In Nasr’s view, studying metaphysics is crucial for a deeper understanding about the original nature of a thing or a being. By bringing religion, philosophy, and science in a common ground, metaphysics discusses some real issues in relation with non-visible things.[78]

Nasr includes Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Jainism, and Shintoism in the spiritual-ethical foundations of the natural world which cultivates the deep relationship between nature and religion, and “the religious understanding of the order of nature”.[79] Besides, there is a reasonable understanding of metaphysical issues in many traditional cultures and indigenous religions. Nasr sees that all these religious and cultural understandings can challenge the monopoly of the present scientific knowledge of the cosmos.[80]   
 
Perennial Philosophical Thought

Nasr is a critic of materialistic or secular philosophy ignoring a spiritual ground of the world. In his view, this kind of philosophy is responsible for growing a spiritless worldview, which inspired humans to treat nature as an inorganic body. To challenge such destructive philosophical attitude, Nasr talks about perennial philosophy.[81] For Nasr, perennial philosophy covers both spiritual and material grounds in a balanced way and makes a connection between them.[82] Perennial philosophy deals with the spiritual grounds of things, souls, the world, and the universe. In Nasr’s view, being opposed to materialistic philosophical ideology, perennial philosophical discourses can build a spiritual approach toward the world and the environment.

Nasr appreciates perennial philosophers like Frithjof Schuon (1907-1998), Ananda Coomaraswamy (1877-1947) and René Guénon (1886-1951), for their deeper philosophical discussions about the spiritual grounds of the world.[83] Nasr analyzes their understanding in the context of environmental issues and suggests applying perennial philosophical understanding in shifting the paradigm from the scientific worldview to the traditional worldview of nature.
 
Pontifical Human, not Promethean Human

Nasr presents the concept of the pontifical human against the modern human. By the term “pontifical man”, Nasr means a traditional, spiritual, and religious human.[84] The most important quality of a pontifical human, in Nasr’s view, is the ability to act as a bridge between heaven and earth. For Nasr, a pontifical human is submissive to Heaven and caring to the natural environment.[85] A pontifical human can play his role as a vicegerent or representative of God on earth, or khalifat-ullāh f’il-arḍ in Islam. Nasr clarifies that the human’s role should not be irresponsible, but rather he /she must take care of nature and be the servant of God (ʿabd-ullāh). If human’s claim is only for the viceregent, khalifat-ullāh, without being a humble servant of God, (ʿabd-ullāh), this human can be dangerous and arrogant.[86] That’s why human excellency and humbleness are balanced by both terms, khalifat-ullāh and ʿabd-ullāh – vicegerent of Allah and His servant.[87] 

Nasr describes modern humans as promethean humans. In Nasr’s view, the characteristics of a promethean human is to deny the existence of God; he is irreligious and an earthly human both by his thought and his works. He/she thinks only for his/her own immediate earthly benefits. He/she is a very selfish human. The promethean human always negates the religious understanding of nature and states it as superstition. Nasr repeatedly asserts that the modern scientific worldview has created and triggered this kind of human all over the world.  Thus, Nasr vehemently criticizes the modern scientific worldview for creating such a mentality in the human mind.
 
God-Human-Earth Hierarchical Relationship Model

Nasr recognizes that in the God-Human-Earth relationship there is a hierarchy. In Nasr’s view, this hierarchical relationship is commonly seen in all religious and cultural traditions in different ways alongside some subtle differences among them. Nasr generalizes this relationship “as a more or less universal or perennial aspect of all traditional philosophies and religions”.[88] But secular environmentalists consider this hierarchical relationship as a very dangerous thing for environmental ethics, because they argue that in such a hierarchical concept the human is kept at the center, just next to God, while all other creatures are considered only for the benefit of humans. Nasr responds to their criticism by arguing that this hierarchical relationship does not give license to humans to mistreat the earthly environment, because this relationship never allows humans to consider non-human creatures as valueless and never allows ignoring rights of other species that live in the environment; rather, humans are made responsible for the environment by taking care of it, otherwise they must show their accountability to God. So, according to this model, humans are located at the place between God and nature and they are bound to play their responsible role as God’s custodian on Earth in protecting the natural world.

For Nasr, the God-Human-Earth relationship model ensures a responsible relationship between humans and non-human creatures, which never supports a human-centric relationship. In Nasr’s view, it is the modern scientific worldview which separated God from humans, and after doing so, it separated humans from nature, which eventually made humans the criteria for measuring all things. As God is not an important entity in the modern scientific worldview, humans are no longer held responsible for any of their actions by God, discouraging them from taking care of nature in one hand and encouraging them to think only of their own earthly benefits on the other. Nasr asserts this kind of human mentality as an anthropocentric approach to nature, which is a result of modern scientific worldviews. For Nasr, traditional religions deal with a triangle relationship, a relationship of God-Human-Earth, while the modern scientific worldview deals only with a single relationship, i.e., between and among humans, briefly called human-centric. So, the God-Human-Earth relationship model should not be misinterpreted by secular environmentalists as a form of the anthropocentric approach to nature.
 
Nature as a Reflection of the Divine

For religious and spiritual people, nature works as a reflection of the divine Being or Soul Whom they worship, but in modern science it is nothing but a material object. Modern scientists see nature in their materialistic eyes, while spiritual and religious people see it with their spiritual eyes. There is a clear demarcation between these two groups of people in terms of seeing, observing and pondering the natural world. In the eye of a spiritual person, every organism of nature reflects the divine reality and he/she can reflect himself/herself in every single sign of nature. For instance, the Quran says: “Verily! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding”.[89]

Nasr argues, if the natural world works as a reflection of the divine reality, there is no scope to underestimate any constituting substance of nature, even if it is an abiotic ingredient of the natural world.[90] All the components of nature are created by God, so as a responsible creature of the same God humans should be very considerate in taking services from them. To be disrespectful to them means to disrespect their Maker who has created both the creatures and humans.  On the other hand, human love for God implies love for God’s creation. So, a man who believes in God never does any harmful act which can destroy a symbol of the divine reflection.
 
Transcendent Unity of Being

All things are created by the same creator, so everything is relatively related with each other. In this way, if humans think about it, they will easily find their deep attachment with every component of nature. For this reason, there is an urgent need for a deeper spiritual understanding through which humans can imagine themselves in a transcendent unity of Being with all other creatures of God, which motivates them eventually to be more tolerable to non-human animals and to acknowledge their rights to live on the Earth with them. This sort of a deeper spiritual contemplation, as Nasr argues, is essential for restoring the human-nature relationship.[91] For Nasr, without such a deeper understanding of the unity of existence no initiative for environmental sustainability will work.[92]
 
Spiritual Worldview of Nature

It is the loss of an authentically spiritual (and traditional) way of knowing (and not just loving) nature that causes the modern and post-modern ways to not be able to offer a sustainable relationship with the natural world, which inspires Nasr to reject both modern and post-modern views of nature and advocate the spiritual way of understanding it. Like Nasr, even some other post-modern scholars, for instance John B. Cobb, Jr. argue that the scientific worldview of nature is not in favor of nature, but rather acts as a dominant cause of nature. The modern worldview ignores the spiritual feelings for non-human animals, because it has denounced spirituality from its scientific discourses.

Nasr clarifies it by giving an example of modern humans. For Nasr, modern people can talk about the environmental crisis, but they are not aiming for ecological equilibrium from their spiritual mind.[93] They lack a deep spiritual feeling or love for the environment, which allows Nasr to reiterate the present ecological problems as spiritual crises of modern humans. In Nasr’s view, if a spiritual worldview of nature is developed and is followed worldwide, humans can reverse the present ecological crisis, whereas Nasr states: “The solution of the environmental crisis can come about only when the modern spiritual malaise is cured and there is a rediscovery of the world of the Spirit”.[94]
 
Traditional Agricultural System

Nasr criticizes modern the agricultural system which is based on technology and chemical fertilizers. For him, the way the modern agricultural system grows crops and fruits is very harmful for the environment, because it alters the quality of soil and destroys the ecological system through killing biotic organisms like earthworms and other insects by using pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers in farming lands.[95] These chemical ingredients gradually enter the human body through consuming food, which eventually result in many rare and unfamiliar diseases like different forms of cancer. Though the modern agricultural system provides humans with sufficient food to meet their appetites, in the long run it keeps humans at a high health risk and destroys the environment.[96] For this reason, Nasr urges reviving traditional technologies in cultivating the farming lands to produce healthy and environmentally friendly foods.[97] 
 
Traditional Way of Building Houses

Nasr advocates building houses and roads in traditional methods, which have less negative impact on the environment. For Nasr, though these methods are not completely free from damaging the environment, these carry less dangerous effects in the natural environment compared with modern methods of building houses and roads. By noting some architects and engineers, Nasr sees it is not impossible to erect buildings by applying traditional methods.[98] For example, he appreciates the building design plan of Hasan Fathi, an Egyptian architect, who used to speak in favor of traditional methods. In Hasan Fathi’s view, as Nasr mentions, by using mud, bricks, stone and other traditional materials instead of metals like iron, steel, and aluminum, it is still possible to build remarkable structures in consideration of environmental sustainability.[99] The Great Wall of China, the Pyramid of Egypt, and the Kutub Miner of Delhi are the best examples of structures built in traditional ways.
 
Less Consumption

Nasr advocates being very careful about consuming any modern product. For him, humans should assume that what they consume can be harmful to their own health and also to nature. If the harm of any consumed items weighs more than its benefits, they should be avoided immediately. Humans should consider what has less consequence to the environment in regard to consumption. In this way, Nasr calls for a balanced way of consuming that is in harmony with nature. For Nasr, it is very unfair to think that we are entitled to consume much because of its availability, because its easily accessible, or because of our attraction to food. For more clarification, Nasr mentions that when people go to any restaurant, they see many delicious dishes there, but they only order what they would like to eat.[100] Thus, Nasr suggests, if such choice is taken in consideration of ecological interest, the entire situation will be positively changed for environmental sustainability.
 
Controlling Human Greed

Despite of being aware of the present ecological crisis, modern humans are continuing their uncontrolled activities in the environment to acquire more economic benefits and military power. Nasr cites this situation as the paradoxical state of modern humans.[101] Actually, this paradox is a result of human greed, which causes humans now to forget their responsibility to the environment.[102] Humans should control greed, but they work as if they are slaves of greed. The modern science and consumerism-based economic system has triggered such greed in the human mind.[103] Everything of the current world is being measured by an exterior achievement in terms of economic prosperity, which has turned modern humans into greedy and selfish animals.
The market-based economic system has created artificial wants all over the world and motivates humans to fulfill those unnecessary demands. On the other hand, common people, who the modern economic system treat just as a customer and consumer, become more greedy day by day in order to meet excess wants in their lives. Unfortunately, the current economic system lacks a solid foundation to decrease human greed or to keep it at a tolerable level. Similarly, modern science and technology are totally disconnected from any moral or ethical guidance to incite a capacity to control greed in the human mind. Therefore, humans are greedier than ever before. Until greed is controlled, there will be no possibility for environmental sustainability. To keep human greed at a tolerable level, Nasr suggests that humans follow the path of traditional wisdoms and reconnect themselves with the primordial character.
 
Wise Economic Function

The environmental problem has a logical relationship with the current economic activities. Human activities in nature are almost related with their earthly welfare and benefits. Before the seventeenth century humans used to maintain a deep relationship with the natural world in their economic functions. But since that century, the secular spirit has been working as a major criterion in all human affairs, especially economic activities. Secular modern economists developed economic theories and policies with regard to earthly benefits only. In the present economic and market system there is no consideration for ecological equilibrium. For this reason, Nasr talks about the wise economic activities where ecological sustainability is considered along with the production, distribution, marketing and consumption of products. Nasr does not believe that these wise economists could save the environment,[104] but he assumes that at least their economic policies could not torture nature massively like the current economic policies.
 
A Society of Human Beings with Profound Responsibility for Nature

Nasr reiterates emphasizing human responsibility to the planetary environment. First, he advocates keeping a deep spiritual feeling for the natural world, and then, he suggests we should change human attitudes to be in favor of nature as quick as possible. For Nasr, if humans can realize that they have a profound responsibility to the natural world, it can motivate them to reform a positive change in their own capacity. In his view, without such a radical transformation in human feeling and their activities, the present situation cannot be reversed. It requires the responsibility of society as a whole toward the natural environment, where consumerism must be limited and controlled by a deeper understanding of the reality and a profound sense of responsibility. This projected society is possible if humans can decide to come back to a religious worldview of nature, to have a sense of accountability to God for their every action, to feel intimacy with the rest of creation, and to have a real vision for achieving peace through serving God’s creatures. Nasr’s hypothetical society articulates a sacrificial mentality for all and a beneficiary attitude to nature, which is based on the essentiality of religions in human society.[105]
 
A Critical Analysis of Nasr’s Eco-Philosophical Understanding[106]

If anyone goes through Nasr’s eco-philosophical understanding, he/she will appreciate Nasr’s extensive works on the environment in connection with the traditional worldview. Nasr has made a praiseworthy attempt to divert human concentration from the present scientific worldview of nature to the traditional worldview of nature. He has taken a brave initiative to rediscover the sacredness in nature, which is completely ignored by modern science, by arguing that it is not impossible to revitalize sacredness in nature, if humans really want a permanent solution for the present ecological crisis. By criticizing the bad consequences of the mechanistic-materialistic worldview of nature, Nasr focuses on the traditional worldview of nature due to the balanced God-Human-Nature relationship. With all these motivated arguments and theoretical foundations, Nasr advocates going back to the traditional view of nature, which is endorsed by sacred and traditional sciences.

Despite so many merits in his theoretical works, someone may consider his eco-theological suggestions as an ideal type of narrative by arguing that Nasr’s works lack proposing concrete suggestions from a perspective of practical grounds. They may argue that Nasr cannot try to understand the habituation of modern humans with their current lifestyle, for Nasr criticizes bitterly the modern lifestyle without providing an idea of a better and a more comfortable lifestyle than what modern humans follow. Scholars may not be satisfied with Nasr’s proposal for reforming the modern life habit, because Nasr suggests a total change in it. Modern humans, who are already habituated with the present way of living, may criticize Nasr for promoting an impractical and utopian plan before them. Nasr remains uncompromised in his vision, so scholars criticize him for not giving any leeway between the traditional views and scientific views of nature. Scholars, who like to see a moderation in ideas, will be disappointed when they see that Nasr cannot articulate a moderate approach between two polar- opposite views, traditional and modern, and that he insists on a total change in terms of the worldview that has been practiced by modern humans for four centuries.

Policy analysts can argue that if Nasr’s suggestion is considered for implementation, it will require a long process, for he suggests changing the consumerism-based lifestyle and reforming the present worldview of nature, which are not easy tasks. They may question further: What should be done immediately? Should the present humans wait for a revolutionary reformation as Nasr suggests? Or should they think of some less destructive plans of action?

Modern humans are individually free to accept any faith and to reject it, which may allow some scholars to contend that Nasr’s retrieval motive has hardly left a space for people of no religion, i.e. atheists or antireligious people. It is argued that disbelieving humans will not support an initiative which is taken purely based on religious foundation. If any influenced group of humans cannot cooperate with an initiative taken for a good purpose, it will be difficult to implement that project for addressing the ecological crisis.
For some scholars, Nasr’s proposal for ecological equilibrium may become a radical approach because of his uncompromised attitude to the traditional worldview of nature, which shows a potential conflict with the current scientific worldview of nature. They can also argue that Nasr’s approach creates another clash with the present economic interest and marketing system, as he cannot give any practical suggestions for alternative activities to reform the current financial and marketing systems.

The way Nasr compares abused nature with a prostitute may create some confusion among scholars. Scholars may argue that Nasr could use a metaphor of a mother instead of a prostitute versus a wife. It may be argued that many environmentalists compare the natural world with a mother, which shows a degree of respect and love to nature. By using such a metaphorical example, a group of scholars call the planetary Earth as Mother Earth.

Sometimes, Nasr uses a deep esoteric narrative which proves a bit difficult, even for young scholars, to understand the significance of those mystic descriptions. Without a basic orientation of religious and spiritual traditions, people cannot grasp easily his deeper esoteric discourses, which he made in connection with nature. The problem of modern scholars is that they have a very poor foundation about faith and spiritual traditions in regard to nature, so they can face some difficulties in understanding Nasr’s insightful, eco-spiritual philosophies.

Nasr’s proposal for going back to the traditional worldview of nature can be misunderstood by modern scholars and proponents of the scientific worldview of nature. They can consider Nasr’s suggestions as a backwards and old-fashioned thought and argue against it by stating that every moment the world continues to move forward, it never regresses to a backward state. So, it seems easy for them to raise the question: how is it possible to bring humans back to an ancient idea? For this group of scholars, Nasr’s appeal remains illogical. According to them, Nasr could, at best, propose a reformed view both of science and traditions.

However, the said critical analyses have seemingly failed to reduce the significance of Nasr’s Islamic eco-philosophical understanding. Nasr has searched the philosophical roots of the ecological crisis and made salient some major causes for the current environmental problems. Someone can argue that Nasr’s philosophical and spiritual understanding are an ideal-type narrative with a deeper philosophical insight, but in consideration of changing the worldview, Nasr has connected successfully the timely thematic issue of the ecological crisis from a perspective of faith and spiritual traditions of the world.
 
Conclusion
​
It becomes clear that Nasr has related the ecological crisis with a spiritual crisis, which is not a dominating part of modern environmental ethics; that is why he has talked about the religious spirituality through which humans can feel the ecological problem and can be convinced by themselves to treat the natural world in a very modest way. He has also proposed perennial philosophy in the place of materialistic philosophy and suggested reviving the traditional metaphysical understanding for deeply thinking of the intimacy between human beings and the natural world. Thus, by connecting eternal wisdoms with the environment, Nasr has tried to instill a positive sentiment in favor of ecological equilibrium. Secular environmentalists or atheist philosophers may criticize Nasr’s eco-philosophical understanding of nature as a backward vision, but they cannot completely deny the significances of the philosophical, spiritual, and insightful motivations Nasr has brought to address the present ecological crisis. Remarkably, Nasr has tried to show the traditional understanding of nature as supporting environmental sustainability. He has emphasized how the traditional science and religious spirituality, being accompanied by the sacred science, worked in the past for the sustainability of the environment. By using these examples, for the long-term solution of the ecological problem, Nasr has suggested a paradigm shift from the modern scientific worldviews to the spirituality-based worldview of nature.
 
Acknowledgements: The author is very much grateful to his PhD supervisors, Professor Lai Pan Chiu and Professor James D. Frankel of Religious Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong for their valued suggestions to improve the paper. The author is also grateful to the three anonymous reviewers of an earlier version of the paper for their worthy comments and suggestions. He also expresses his gratitude to the editor of the Journal of Islamic Studies, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, for his nice cooperation in regard to the publication. Lastly, the Author highly appreciate the support and cooperation of Professor Dr. Jay Daniel, Editor of Open Horizons, for reading, editing and uploading the present contribution in the magazine.
 
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*This contribution is based on a term paper titled “Seyyed Hossein Nasr’s Thought on Environmental Ethics: A Traditional and Spiritual Approach with Bio-centric Understanding of the natural World” submitted to the Chinese University of Hong Kong on 2 May 2017 as a course requirement (RELS-6001 – Graduate Seminar 1). The same term paper is also the basis of a chapter (“Seyyed Hossein Nasr’s Islamic Eco-theological View and Environmental Crisis”) of author’s current Ph.D. dissertation project Religious Perspectives on Environmental Issues: A Comparative Study of John B. Cobb, Jr. and Seyyed Hossein Nasr in Religious Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
 
**PhD Candidate in Religious Studies (with Hong Kong PhD Fellowship award 2016-2017), Department of Cultural and Religious Studies, the Chinese University of Hong Kong; Faculty Member of World Religions and Culture Department in the University of Dhaka; and Ernst Mach-Fellow (as a visiting PhD student) in Religious Studies at the University of Vienna (e-mail: [email protected]).
 
[1] For a short biography of Nasr, see Enes Karic, “Nasr: Tinker of the Sacred,” in The Philosophy of Seyyed Hossein Nasr, edited by Lewis Edwin Hahn, Randall E. Auxier and Lucian W. Jr. Stone (Chicago and La Salle, Illinois: Open Court, 2001), 782-783. For a detailed biographical description see Seyyed Hossein Nasr, “An Intellectual Autobiography,” in The Philosophy of Seyyed Hossein Nasr, edited by Lewis Edwin Hahn, Randall E. Auxier and Lucian W. Jr. Stone (Chicago and La Salle, Illinois: Open Court, 2001), 3-85; Seyyed Hossein Nasr and Ramin Jahanbergloo, In Search of the Sacred: A Conversation with Seyyed Hossein Nasr on His Life and Thought (Santa Barbara, California; Denver, Colorado; Oxford, England: Praeger, 2010), 1-59, 80-90.

[2] For an account of his intellectual works see M. Aminrazabi and Z. Moris, A Complete Bibliography of the Works of Seyyed Hossein Nasr (Malaysia: Islamic Academy of Science, 1994) ; and “Bibliography of Seyyed Hossein Nasr,” in The Philosophy of Seyyed Hossein Nasr, edited by Lewis Edwin Hahn, Randall E. Auxier and Lucian W. Jr. Stone (Chicago and La Salle, Illinois: Open Court, 2001), 833-964.

[3] Seyyed Hossein Nasr and Muzaffar Iqbal, “The Islamic Perspective on the Environmental Crisis: Seyyed Hossein Nasr in Conversation with Muzaffar Iqbal,” Islam & Science 5, no.1, (Summer 2007): 75-96.

[4] Before going to the USA for educational purpose, Nasr learnt some basic Islamic knowledge including Persian poetries and mystical history of Iran from his learned parents, some relatives and guests. After coming back to Tehran, he also learnt under traditional teachers of religious sciences. For details about Nasr’s education, see Nasr and Jahanbergloo, In Search of the Sacred: 1-59, 80-90; Nasr, “An Intellectual Autobiography”, 3-85.

[5] Enes Karic considers Nasr “a deeply traditional thinker”. For him, Nasr’s traditional way of thinking “corresponds to the Islamic attitude according to which the world is seen as traditional (not traditionalistic): the Prophet Muhammad did not bring a new religion but only revealed the ancient one, linked to the inexhaustible spring, and heralded by all of the Divine Messengers” (Enes Karic, “Nasr: Tinker of the Sacred”, 783).

[6] For example, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Man, and Nature: The Spiritual Crisis of Modern Man
(London: Unwin Paperbacks, 1968/1976); Seyyed Hossein Nasr, The Need for a Sacred Science (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1993); Seyyed Hossein Nasr Religion and the Order of Nature (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996).

[7] For example, Tarik M. Quadir, Traditional Islamic Environmentalism: The Vision of Seyyed Hossein Nasr (Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America, 2013); Ian Mevorach, In Search of a Christian Muslim Common Path from Desacralization to Resacralization of Nature: Sallie McFague and Seyyed Hossein Nasr on the Ecological Crisis (Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation) (Boston: School of Theology, Boston University, 2015); Almut Beringer, “Reclaiming a Sacred Cosmology: Seyyed Hossein Nasr, the Perennial Philosophy and Sustainability Education,” Canadian Journal of Environmental Education 11, no.1, (2006): 26-42; Md. Abu Sayem, “A Scientific World-View of Nature and Environmental Problem with a Special Concentration on Seyyed Hossein Nasr’s Understanding of Environmental Sustainability,” Journal of Islam in Asia 15, no. 2, (2018): 312-328; Osman Bakar, “Nature as a Sacred Book: A Core Element of Seyyed Hossein Nasr's Philosophical Teachings,” Sacred Web 40, (Winter 2017): 75-101; Munjed M. Murad, “Inner and Outer Nature: An Islamic Perspective on the Environmental Crisis,” Journal of Islam and Science 10, no. 2, (Winter 2012): 117-37; Reza Shah-Kazemi, “From Sacrilege to Sacralisation: Seyyed Hossein Nasr's Perspectives on the Ecological Crisis in the Light of the Holy Qur'an,”  Sacred Web 40, (Winter 2017):103-111.

[8] According to a majority of scholars, “it covers about a century and a half in Europe”, starting with Francis Bacon’s publication, Novum Organum, in 1620 and ending with Immanuel Kant’s publication, Critique of Pure Reason, in 1781. From a social-political perspective, it is considered from the close of the Thirty Years’ War (1648) to the French Revolution (1789). (New World Encyclopaedia)

[9] Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Islam and the Plight of Modern Man (Chicago: ABC International Group, Inc., 1975 / 2001 [Revised and Enlarged Edition]), 73.

[10] Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Religion and the Order of Nature, 24.

[11] Nasr, Islam and the Plight of Modern Man, 73.

[12] Nasr, Islam and the Plight of Modern Man, 73.

[13] Nasr, Islam and the Plight of Modern Man, 73.

[14] Quadir, Traditional Islamic Environmentalism, 16-17.

[15] See footnote no. 4 of this paper for knowing more about Nasr’s acquiring modern and traditional knowledge.

[16] Nasr, Man, and Nature; Nasr, The Need for a Sacred Science; Nasr, Religion and the Order of Nature.

[17] Nasr, Religion and the Order of Nature, 4, 24.

[18] Nasr, Religion and the Order of Nature, 24.

[19] Nasr, Islam and the Plight of Modern Man, 4.

[20] Nasr, Man, and Nature; Nasr, The Need for a Sacred Science; Nasr, Religion and the Order of Nature; Nasr, Islam and the Plight of Modern Man; Seyyed Hossein Nasr, “The Spiritual and Religious Dimensions of the Environmental Crisis,” The Ecologist 30, (January 2000): 18-20.

[21] Nasr, Religion and the Order of Nature, 7-14, 201-223, 270-2780, 284- 288.

[22] Nasr, Man, and Nature, 57, 82-85.

[23] Nasr, The Need for a Sacred Science, 84-85, 173; Nasr, Man, and Nature, 14.

[24] Nasr, Man, and Nature, 81-103.

[25] In Nasr’s words: “The Oriental traditions emphasize on the hierarchic nature of reality, the predominance of the spiritual over the material, the sacred character of the cosmos, the inseparability of man’s destiny from that of natural and cosmic environment, and the unity of knowledge and the interpretations of all things. These teachings of the oriental traditions comprise the metaphysical aspects of oriental cultures.” (Nasr, Man, and Nature, 73)

[26] Nasr, Islam and the Plight of Modern Man, 51.

[27] Mevorach, In Search of a Christian Muslim Common Path, 122-123.

[28] Nasr, Religion and the Order of Nature, 1-2.

[29] Nasr, The Need for a Sacred Science, 1-2.

[30] Nasr, The Need for a Sacred Science, 2.

[31] Nasr, The Need for a Sacred Science, 173.

[32] Nasr, The Need for a Sacred Science, 7.

[33] Nasr, The Need for a Sacred Science, 71, 96-99, 129-45.

[34] Nasr, The Need for a Sacred Science, 95-96.

[35] Nasr, The Need for a Sacred Science, 95-96.

[36] Nasr, The Need for a Sacred Science, 96.

[37] Nasr, The Need for a Sacred Science, 96.

[38] Nasr, The Need for a Sacred Science, 96-97.

[39] Nasr, The Need for a Sacred Science, 97.

[40] Nasr, Religion and the Order of Nature, 97.

[41] Nasr, Religion and the Order of Nature, 97-98.

[42] Nasr, Religion and the Order of Nature, 98.

[43] Nasr, “The Spiritual and Religious Dimensions of the Environmental Crisis”: 18.

[44] Nasr, Man, and Nature, 14, 136.

[45] Nasr, Man, and Nature, 14.

[46] As Nasr states: “Everyone talks today of the danger of war, over-population or the pollution of air and water. But usually the same people who discern these obvious problems speak of the necessity of further ‘development’, or war against ‘human misery’ stemming from conditions imposed by terrestrial existence itself. In other words, they wish to overcome the problems brought about by the destruction of the equilibrium between man and nature through further conquest and domination of nature.” (Nasr, Man, and Nature, 13)

[47] Nasr, Man, and Nature, 13.

[48] Nasr, Religion and the Order of Nature, 9-24; Nasr, “The Spiritual and Religious Dimensions”: 18-20.

[49] Nasr, Religion and the Order of Nature, 24.

[50] The religious world-view of nature is a view of natural world which is expressed in the authentic religious scriptures. According to this view, “the universe consists of signs of God” (Quadir, Traditional Islamic Environmentalism, 5).  

[51] Nasr, “The Spiritual and Religious Dimensions”: 18.

[52] Nasr, “The Spiritual and Religious Dimensions”: 18.

[53] Nasr, “The Spiritual and Religious Dimensions”: 20.

[54] Seyyed Hossein Nasr, “Islam, the Contemporary Islamic World, and the Environmental Crisis,” in Islam and Ecology: A Bestowed Trust, edited by Richard C. Foltz, Frederick M. Denny and Azizan Baharuddin (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Center for the Study of World Religions [Harvard Divinity School] with Harvard University Press, 2003), 86; Seyyed Hossein Nasr and Muzaffar Iqbal, “The Islamic Perspective on the Environmental Crisis: Seyyed Hossein Nasr in Conversation with Muzaffar Iqbal,” Islam & Science 5, no.1, (Summer 2007): 81.

[55] Nasr and Iqbal, “The Islamic Perspective on the Environmental Crisis”: 91.

[56] Nasr has taken this analogy from the Quranic description of Moses and Khidr. For details, see the Quran, 18: 71-75 and the commentaries of these verses.

[57] Nasr and Iqbal, “The Islamic Perspective on the Environmental Crisis”: 82.

[58] Nasr and Iqbal, “The Islamic Perspective on the Environmental Crisis”: 82.

[59] Nasr and Iqbal, “The Islamic Perspective on the Environmental Crisis”: 84.

[60] Seyyed Hossein Nasr, “Islam and Environmental Crisis,” in Spirit and Nature: Why the Environment is a Religious Issue—An Interfaith Dialogue, edited by Rockefeller, Stephen C. and
Elder, John C. (Boston: Beacon Press, 1992) 106; Lisa Wersal, “Islam and Environmental Ethics: Tradition Responds to Contemporary Challenges,” Zygon 30, no.3, (1995): 458.

[61] Beringer, “Reclaiming a Sacred Cosmology”: 40.

[62] Quadir, Traditional Islamic Environmentalism, 47.  

[63] This kind of approach is, as Nasr calls, scientism. It is a kind of ideology of modern man to consider science only acceptable criteria to measure all things. So, for modern man it is “the most reliable means to true knowledge” (Quadir, Traditional Islamic Environmentalism, 5).

[64] Generally, cosmology deals with scientific and philosophical understanding of the universe.

[65] Beringer, “Reclaiming a Sacred Cosmology”: 31.

[66] Seyyed Hossein Nasr, “Islam and Environmental Crisis,” in Islam and the Environment, edited by A. Agwan (New Delhi: Institute of Objective Studies, 1997), 22.

[67] In the cosmological discourse, it articulates spiritual worlds with material and physical reality. In it the Divine Reality is seen as the creator; because in this cosmology it is believed that “the cosmos is sustained by Divine Reality” (Beringer, “Reclaiming a Sacred Cosmology”:  35).

[68] Nasr, “Islam and Environmental Crisis” (1997): 22; Beringer, “Reclaiming a Sacred Cosmology”:  35.

[69] Nasr, “Islam and Environmental Crisis” (1997): 22; Beringer, “Reclaiming a Sacred Cosmology”:  35.

[70] Nasr, “Islam and Environmental Crisis” (1997): 22; Beringer, “Reclaiming a Sacred Cosmology”:  35.

[71] Nasr, “Islam and Environmental Crisis” (1997): 22; Beringer, “Reclaiming a Sacred Cosmology”:  35.

[72] Beringer, “Reclaiming a Sacred Cosmology”: 33.

[73] Nasr, Religion and the Order of Nature, 24.

[74] Nasr, Religion and the Order of Nature, 24.

[75] Nasr, “Islam and Environmental Crisis” (1997): 25.

[76] Nasr, Religion and the Order of Nature, 24.

[77] Nasr, Religion and the Order of Nature, 24.

[78] Nasr, Religion and the Order of Nature, 24.

[79] Nasr, Religion and the Order of Nature, 4; Beringer, “Reclaiming a Sacred Cosmology”: 33.

[80] Nasr, Religion and the Order of Nature, 3; Beringer, “Reclaiming a Sacred Cosmology”: 33.

[81] It is coined by Leibniz in German as philosophia perennias.  It deals with the metaphysical issues “that recognizes a divine reality of the world” (Huxley 1944/1990: vii, 2, cited in Beringer, “Reclaiming a Sacred Cosmology”: 28). It covers the issues like soul, spirit, mind, etc.  It also tries to give the answer how all things were formed through the spiritual and material amalgamation.

[82] Nasr, Religion and the Order of Nature; Nasr, “Islam and Environmental Crisis” (1997).

[83] Quadir, Traditional Islamic Environmentalism, 16-18; Beringer, “Reclaiming a Sacred Cosmology”: 28.

[84] Nasr, The Need for a Sacred Science, 160-161.

[85] Mevorach, In Search of a Christian Muslim Common Path, 144.

[86] Nasr, The Need for a Sacred Science, 134-135; Mevorach, In Search of a Christian Muslim Common Path, 145.

[87] Nasr, The Need for a Sacred Science, 134-135; Mevorach, In Search of a Christian Muslim Common Path, 145.

[88] Mevorach, In Search of a Christian Muslim Common Path, 146.

[89] The Quran, 3: 190. (Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din Al-Hilali and Muhammad Muhsin Khan, The Noble Quran (English Translation of the Meanings and Commentary) (Madinah: King Fahd Compelx for the Printing of the Holy Quran, 1420 [A.H.]).

[90] Nasr, Religion and the Order of Nature, 9.

[91] Nasr, Man, and Nature, 20, 135-136.

[92] Nasr, Man, and Nature, 20, 135-136.

[93] Nasr, Man, and Nature, 13.

[94] Nasr, “Islam and Environmental Crisis” (1992), 106; Wersal, “Islam and Environmental Ethics”: 458.

[95] Nasr and Iqbal, “The Islamic Perspective on the Environmental Crisis”: 88.

[96] Nasr and Iqbal, “The Islamic Perspective on the Environmental Crisis”: 88.

[97] Nasr and Iqbal, “The Islamic Perspective on the Environmental Crisis”: 92.

[98] Nasr and Iqbal, “The Islamic Perspective on the Environmental Crisis”: 90-91.

[99] Nasr and Iqbal, “The Islamic Perspective on the Environmental Crisis”: 90-91.

[100] Nasr and Iqbal, “The Islamic Perspective on the Environmental Crisis”: 90.

[101] Nasr, Man, and Nature, 13; Nasr and Iqbal, “The Islamic Perspective on the Environmental Crisis”: 84.

[102] Nasr, “Islam and Environmental Crisis” (1997): 23.

[103] Nasr and Iqbal, “The Islamic Perspective on the Environmental Crisis”: 83.

[104] Nasr and Iqbal, “The Islamic Perspective on the Environmental Crisis”: 79.

[105] Nasr, “The Spiritual and Religious Dimensions of the Environmental Crisis”: 20.

[106] A similar argument was made in author’s another paper, Md. Abu Sayem, “A Scientific World-View of Nature and Environmental Problem with a Special Concentration on Seyyed Hossein Nasr’s Understanding of Environmental Sustainability,” Journal of Islam in Asia 15, no. 2, (2018): 312-328. The present critical assessment is modified and elaborated from the earlier version.