Introduction

There have been as many ways of comprehending the natural world as there have been human societies. Indeed there have been more, for most societies nurture divergent and contending views. With respect to societies oriented towards Islamic belief and practice, it might seem reasonable to begin by asking how the Qurʾān depicts the natural world. But the status of the Qurʾān as the word of God does not mean that Muslim societies have necessarily built their views of the world around them upon a foundation of divine revelation. Rather, each society – recognising here that the very word ‘society’ comprehends a multiplicity of individual outlooks – has woven a tissue of comprehension from disparate and sometimes incompatible sources, not always giving priority to religious belief.

In attempting to bring a sense of order and chronological development to the great complexity of the subject, this chapter divides into three sections. The first, ‘The pastoral order’, deals with the Muslim community prior to 183/800, when it was still primarily Arab in ethnicity. The second, covering the Middle East, North Africa and Spain during the ʿAbbāsid caliphate down to 596/1200, is entitled ‘The Hellenistic inheritance’. The third deals with regions at greater remove from the historical Muslim heartland and extends down to 1214/1800. It is entitled ‘Legacies and syntheses’.