1. uluslararasi prof. Dr. Fuat sezgiN İSLÂM

KEYNOTE SPEECH

Science, Technique, Contemplation: Reading the Signs in the Universe with Fuat Sezgin

Prof. Dr. İbrahim KALIN The Presidential Spokesperson; Ibn Haldun University
Before I begin my speech, I would like to thank Istanbul University Rector Prof. Dr. Mahmut Ak and the scientists who organized this symposium. The International Fuat Sezgin Symposium is among the important events being carried out within the scope of the Year of Fuat Sezgin, which our President announced last year. It’s been less than a year since we lost the late Professor Fuat Sezgin. I am very pleased to see that he is being commemorated in Turkey and important events are being carried out in order to bring his works to a wider audience. I would also like to express that I am happy to be addressing you here as a graduate of Istanbul University History Department and that it is pleasing to have such a meeting held at Istanbul University, one of the most established scientific and educational institutions in Turkey.
Fuat Sezgin was a scholar and thinker who carried out many important studies that cannot be evaluated only within the framework of the history of Islamic science or the history of science in general. The most important aspect of his work is that it presents a vision of history that questions the Eurocentric perspective of history and aims to go beyond it. It is also of great importance that this is done specifically in the field of the history of science. As a matter of fact, this fundamental problem, which he identified in the 40s and 50s and worked hard to overcome in the following years, is continuing to influence our view of the history of science, the history of thought, and the history of civilization. Even today, when you take any standard educational history book and look at the history of science, the history of philosophy or the history of civilizations chapters, you see that the general framework presented is that the wisdom, science, philosophy, logic and civilization in general began in ancient Greece, and this trend continued in the same direction, the scientific accumulations of civilizations and cultures that emerged later on being treated merely as footnotes or afterthoughts with this trend. The Eurocentric perspective of history fixes science and thought at a point in European history and limits it to an exclusive territory. However, when you read ancient Greek philosophers, you see that there are many references to previous civilizations. For example, Plato in his works refers to ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia; Pythagoras and Pythagoreans refer to civilizations outside the geography of ancient Greece. When you read Parmenides, who was originally from Samos, that is, from the Island of Samos, you see that he makes references to geographies and scientific traditions outside of Ancient Greece. Despite this, the Eurocentric understanding of history constitutes the foundational framework of the historiography written or emerged especially after the Enlightenment, and continues to be a perspective that determines the main paradigm in almost every field from science to thought, from art to philosophy.

This Eurocentric perspective appears as Orientalism in the context of Islamic studies in the 19th century. The link between these two concepts should be examined from different angles today. In general, when those who write the history of the world from a Eurocentric perspective turn to the Islamic world, in other words, when they turn to the geographical area they call the East or the oriental, they often try to study and explore the “East” and the “Islamic world” by adopting the paradigm within the framework of this main idea. The basic approach of Orientalism - as Edward Said stated in his book published in 1978

- is not actually about the East, the Islamic world or the Orient; it is about the West’s own imagination, its perception of “me”, the concepts of power, competence, art and aesthetics in its own mind, in other words, the West itself. The East emerges there as a décor and object of the West’s self-realization project. This does not negate the fact that Orientalists made serious studies and did important work. However, from a critical perspective, it is clear that they also looked at Islamic civilization from a Eurocentric perspective as a footnote for the Western civilization, the civilization march that started in Ancient Greece. One of the best known examples of this situation is the claim that the history of philosophy or philosophical activities in Islam came to an end with the death of Ibn Rushd.
Ibn Rushd died in 1193. However, we know that philosophical studies in Islam continued to thrive after Ibn Rushd. The fact that many names related to Islamic philosophy after Ibn Rushd can be counted is a testament to this. Many names can be mentioned from Fahreddin Razi, Îcî, Taftazanî in scholastic theology, Mulla Sadra, Nasiruddin Tusi, Ibn Kemal, and other philosophers from the Indian subcontinent in philosophy, to the philosophical movements in the Ottoman Empire.
At this point, the question of why Ibn Rushd is considered a milestone is important. The main claim is the argument that philosophical thought in the Islamic world came to an end as the influence of Islamic philosophy on Western thought waned after Ibn Rushd. In other words, some think that with the end of Latin Averroism in the 12^th and 13^th centuries philosophical thought in Islam ended, too. There are also those who argue that this so-called period of cessation started even earlier following Al-Ghazali’s the Tahāfut al-Falāsifa. However, Toshihiko Izutsu claimed in the 1970s that the Islamic philosophy movement in the broadest sense of the word began after Ibn Rushd. According to him, the philosophical activities that had been under the influence of ancient Greece until this period moved on to building and deepening their own language, style, terminology and problematics after Ibn Rushd.
In the context of the history of science, Professor Fuat Sezgin’s studies have developed a perspective that questions this main paradigm. For this reason, he is rightfully considered a great scholar and thinker who reminds us of a history that was effaced. The basic approach of Professor Fuat Sezgin was based on the recognition of the value of this history that was effaced. Indeed, there is no preservation without memory. It is not

possible for us to understand the past without knowing what we have lost, to understand the present and build our future. Again, as Professor Sezgin states in many of his works, history is not just a knowledge of the past. History refers to the whole system of knowledge that reveals our visions, plans, approaches and projects related to today and tomorrow. In this sense, history is always current, constantly being rewritten. A paradigm of history, say the history of Islamic science until Fuat Sezgin, while being considered a small footnote, can suddenly gain a position at the center of the world history of science with his works. Historians - and I can easily say that as a person who studied history - must rediscover and rewrite history every day. In this sense, we have to accept that looking back at the history is also a dynamic process.

Professor Fuat Sezgin has revealed in many of his works that the claim that the history of Islamic science is not original is an unfounded thesis. GAS, which he wrote as a continuation of Brockelmann’s GAL, has gone beyond being a sequel and has become an independent corpus in its own right. Even when GAS is leafed through superficially, it can be seen that the amount of works produced and put forward is tremendous. In GAS, Professor Sezgin extensively featured works not only in well-known fields like medicine, astronomy, etc., but also in different fields such as geography, cartography, maritime, mathematics and chemistry.
This is not a subject that can be explained by the personal genius of a few scholars. It should be stated that the works of Muslim scholars, philosophers, literati, poets, and pilgrims are also important in terms of reflecting the cultural environment of that period. They were brought up in such a cultural environment that it was impossible not to be interdisciplinary, not to train and improve themselves in different fields in this environment. It would not be possible for someone who did not have these qualities to be identified as a scholar, a philosopher, or a theological scholar. For this reason, new studies need to be done on what the ethos of transmitted science, cultural and intellectual sciences is. The works of Professor Sezgin provide us with very important data in this field as well.
To be more specific, the works of Ghazali or Ibn Sina are not just about their personal genius. There is no doubt that personal qualities are important elements that enable great thinkers to make a point. However, the cultural ethos that nurtured them, the scientific environment and the intellectual climate should also be properly understood.
I would like to share with you a very good story about al-Farabi here, about the cultural environment in question and what kind of works scholars produced in this climate. It is rumored that Al-Farabi’s fame has come all the way to Baghdad. Al-Farabi is a weak man with a shepherd’s cloak on his back. He has become famous in almost every field from philosophy to logic, from mathematics to astronomy, from religious sciences to foreign languages as a wise, enlightened human being. His fame has extended to Baghdad, and people are talking about him, saying “he raised himself this much, improved himself


that much”. The Baghdad Ulama, wondering who this man is, whether he is indeed a great scholar as it is said, if he is a philosopher or a thinker, decides to organize a scientific debate. They say ‘Let him come so we can take his measure’ so to speak. They invite al-Farabi to this scientific assembly held in the presence of the Sultan. The assembly takes place in a great hall, where the entire Baghdad Ulama sits on both sides, left and right. After taking al-Farabi in from one end of the hall with his companion, the Sultan says to him, “Come and sit where you consider yourself worthy of knowledge in this assembly.” Al-Farabi walks from one end of the hall to the other. He removes the Sultan from his throne and sits there. The hall stirs sharply with surprised words, ‘How dare he, who does he think he is!’. The Sultan tells one of his attendants in the local dialect spoken in that region, ‘If this man does not prove his adequacy, bring his head to me at the end of the meeting.’ Al-Farabi answers in the same dialect: ‘Don’t worry, my Sultan! You will see that I have proven my adequacy.’ The scholars in the hall cannot hide their astonishment: ‘We know this man knows the language, but how come can he speak the local dialect? It is a kind of secret coded language.’ Afterwards, the scientific debate starts with transmitted sciences such as hadith, tafsir, prophetic biography, Qur’anic eloquence, etc. Al-Farabi knows all that, answers all the questions. They have a break, then continue with the second session. A long session is held on philosophy, logic, natural sciences. Al-Farabi again gives competent answers to all the questions. The Ulama begin to be disturbed by the thought of being ashamed in the presence of the Sultan. They start to think ‘This man is probably as great a scholar as they say. Whatever we ask, he gives astounding and profound answers to all of them.’ They take another break. Ulama among themselves say ‘This man is good at both naqli and ‘aqli sciences, he is very knowledgeable in fields of philosophy, science, etc. Let’s ask him a question from such a field that nobody can answer easily, a field that not many has studied or written in. While thinking about what this area might be, one of them suggests, “Let’s ask him about the field of music.” They bring up the subject to al-Farabi, ‘What is music? What is music theory? What is harmony? Do you know the Pythagoreans?’ But what they don’t know is that al-Farabi has written the five-volume book on music ‘Kitab al-Musiqa al-Kabir’. Therefore, as soon as al-Farabi hears the music talk, he starts answering questions self-confidently. He explains at length how the harmony and euphony in the heavens are reflected on the earth, how the system of maqam - possibly also mentioning the dastgah system - has been established, and their mathematical solutions. Astonished, when the Ulama is about to give up thinking that there probably isn’t anything this man does not know, one of them says: ‘We understand that you are a very knowledgeable person in all theoretical sciences, you’re very intelligent. You also know the field of music study very well. Well, can you play something?’, the Ulama thinking ‘No way he can do this too’. Indeed, according to the general opinion, theoreticians do not have much practice. According to the narrative, al-Farabi takes out a woodwind instrument like a small pipe, flute or a ney under his abaya and starts playing it. He plays in such a maqam

that everybody cheerfully claps along this very cheerful, joyful melody. He then switches the maqam. Everyone starts crying. This is probably in maqam Hijaz or Saba. When he changes the maqam for the third time, he plays a melody that nobody has heard until then, and everyone falls asleep. Al-Farabi collects his belongings, leaves the hall, and never comes back to Baghdad.

Ibn Khallikan tells us this story about al-Farabi. From a historical point of view, we can discuss at length whether such an event actually happened or not. However, it’s worth trying to understand this story without spoiling the magic of it. The essential question to be asked is why this story is told about al-Farabi. Al-Farabi’s influence on subsequent generations has been so profound that later generations have kept telling this story like a legend. The reason for this is the respect shown to al-Farabi, and what is more important is that al-Farabi represents the cultural ethos that is prevalent in different branches of science, transmitted sciences, intellectual sciences, theoretical sciences, and practical sciences. Undoubtedly, there are many more examples like him, from Ghazali to Ibn Rushd, from Suhraverdi to Mulla Sadra and Ibn Taymiyya. It is seen that the scientists of this era, especially mathematicians, astronomers, physicists, physicians from Biruni to Jabir ibn Hayyan and Omar Khayyam, have this versatile identity, called polymath in English, or a Renaissance person. Professor Sezgin’s works provide us with extremely important clues about how these well-educated and sophisticated scientists were brought up in terms of revealing this cultural climate and ethos. When we look at how these scholars ensured the intellectual integrity among different fields of study, theological and intellectual studies, science, technique, technology, history of science, the works of Professor Sezgin guide us again.
In essence, Muslim scientists, whether physicists, theologians, philosophers, historians or travelers, acted on the principle of the understanding of existence and practicing in accordance with its truth. Understanding the truth of existence as it is constitutes the basis of every scientific activity and contemplation. When the entity is perceived as a whole, a relationship of integrity arises between its scientific examination and its philosophical consideration, its poetic description and its pictorial portrayal. The categorical and sharp separation of these from each other is a modern development that emerged after the idea of Enlightenment. The examination of existence, the outside world and the world of physics by scientists, thinkers, writers, theologians to reveal the different aspects of being was never seen as a fundamentally contradictory activity. On the contrary, while a scientist, for example a physicist was revealing the physical dimension of the matter, a philosopher was suggesting the philosophical construct of it, a theologian was analyzing it from a religious point of view, a poet or a painter delivering the symbolic meaning of it, in fact, they were all trying to address the same truth, the same reality from different angles. It is significant that the word ayah is used in the Qur’an in reference to both the verses of the Qur’an and the signs in the world of creation. This fact, referred to as Ayatollah or Ayetullah, was also extensively


covered in Medieval Latin thought; with the expression Vestigia Dei, it became one of the important cornerstones of medieval Christian theology and Jewish kalam. From this point of view, there is an integral relationship between the verses revealed by Allah and the signs he has placed on the realm he created. In this sense, religion and science, reason and faith, logic and emotion do not have to be at odds. Again, it is possible to see the examples of this clearly in the history of Islamic thought, in the history of science. It should also be kept in mind that there are very important answers that can be given in this respect to today’s discussions of religion-science, reason-belief, etc.
Starting out from this perspective, science and technique also provide some clues as to what kind of reflection we should have about existence. The most basic concept here is the concept of wisdom, hikmah. ‘Hikmah’ comes from the same root as judgement, ‘hukm’ in Arabic and refers to the clear, sound, rational and firm presentation of a concept. The relationship between wisdom and judgment is an issue that has been loudly and clearly put forth since the early stages of Islamic thought. There is no judgment without wisdom; in other words, no religious decree has been manifested without explaining its reason and justification.
In the case of the mention of lawful ‘halal’ and unlawful ‘haram’, first of all its wisdom, it’s ‘hikmah’, that is, its reason, is put forward; then the judgement is concluded. The reason why this is explained from the angle of hikmah, wisdom, is that hikmah is a poem of answers appealing to the mind and heart of the human being. When you say manslaughter is bad, theft is bad, lying is bad, persecution is bad, but it’s good to mend hearts, to protect, and to save, the foundations on which you build these concepts of good and bad determine your way of thinking and your vision of civilization. Unless the foundations of wisdom are laid out, the decrees have no validity. That is why, in Western thought, the question “Why does absence not exist, but existence does?” that Leibniz formulated and pondered upon has been the fundamental question of not only philosophy but all scientific and intellectual activities. Heidegger asked the same question again in the 20^th century. According to him, the main problem of Western thought is that the question of existence, which he refers to as Seinsfrage, has been forgotten since Plato.
The issue of existence in Islamic thought has always been at the center of this contemplation. This inevitably leads us to the concept of wisdom. As a matter of fact, being able to answer the question ‘Why is there no absence, but existence?’ provides the opportunity to have an accurate perspective on everything from science to technology, from art to politics, from literature to urbanism. This means laying the foundations for an exercise of contemplation based on wisdom.
So, what is wisdom? Wisdom is not just an answer that explains why something exists and reveals its reasons. Wisdom is also an act of contemplation that combines the concepts of right, good, and beautiful. We can state that when three of the concepts of beauty,

the concept of truth, which is exhibited through reason and logic, the concept of good that we morally accept, and the concept of beauty that we embrace and enjoy aesthetically come together, a wisdom-based meditation emerges. This means that the mind, the heart and other cognitive faculties of the human being act in unity. A contemplation in which truth, good and beauty are together reveals a way of thinking based on wisdom, an understanding of civilization. Therefore, when we look at the example of Omar Khayyam for instance, it becomes possible to meet mathematics and poetry in the same person, and to discuss the mathematical order of the universe, and its poetic and metaphysical dimensions. In al-Ghazali’s thinking you can see that theological studies and fields such as logic and philosophy –Although al-Ghazali opposed certain branches of Aristotelian philosophy, he put forward a contemplation process by using philosophical arguments.

– are integrated. The concept of transcendent theosophy, which Mulla Sadra developed with the principle of the fundamentality of existence in the 17^th century and named al- hikmah al-muta’āliyah, also has the same perspective. Here we can say that we have important data indicating a contemplative activity that combines the right, the good and the beautiful; that addresses the mind, emotions and feelings of the human being in integrity; that the vision of a civilization was not only possible in the past, but is also possible today and tomorrow. We need this even more, especially today. Because today, when we look at the relationship between wisdom and judgment, it is seen that there is a lot of judgement in our lives; however, there is very little wisdom. While it is easy to judge, it requires a different, deeper and more patient effort to explain, understand, comprehend, and experience the wisdom. When we can establish the balance between wisdom and judgment, we can understand the history of Islamic civilization from a more accurate perspective. When we view it like this, we can better grasp the groundlessness of the Eurocentric and Orientalist claims such as scientific and philosophical activity in Islam having ended in the 11^th, 13^th or 14^th century.
One of the issues that Professor Fuat Sezgin insisted on throughout his life of science is the difficulties that arise in the issue of dating or periodization. We still haven’t been able to reveal our own dating and periodization work in all its dimensions. Recently, a notable exception to this was a study conducted by a few theologians under the title of the Atlas of Islamic Thought. The book was published two years ago thanks to a serious effort. This work is very important in terms of making a historical periodization of our own. But of course, this cannot be completed only by a book, a study, or the work of a few scholars. We need a brand new reading of history to transcend the terms of the age of enlightenment, the dark ages, the middle ages and so on that are deeply ingrained in our minds. For this reason, Professor Fuat Sezgin stated that the period what Westerners call the dark ages were the golden ages of Islamic civilization. However, when we think of the middle ages in our minds, we still remember a period of darkness without reason and thought, of despotism. When we look at the Enlightenment period, we can see


similar situations there as well. If oppression and persecution are mentioned, it should be reminded that the guillotine originated not in Bologna or Andalusia in the Middle Ages, but in post-Enlightenment France. It is possible to say that the approaches that reject the intellectual and scientific claims of the Enlightenment, the fields referred to as occult sciences, also became popular in the 19^th century. As it is known many studies have been conducted on this topic of anti-enlightenment, or counter-Enlightenment. Historians of thought, such as Isaiah Berlin, have put forth extensive studies on these topics. It is known how Romanticism emerged as a response to the rigid, one-dimensional, reductionist sense of reason and science in the age of Enlightenment, questioning the basic arguments of it. Therefore, the issue of periodization still remains as a serious issue before us today. We have not yet attained a clarity of mind even regarding the periodization of Ottoman history–Professor Mahmut Ak as a respected Ottoman historian would certainly have things to say on this issue. The rising period, the period of decline, the period of dissolution etc., the background of the expressions still stands before us as a serious problem. Although it is possible to say that the 19^th century was a very turbulent period, and the 18^th century was a troubled period when focused on political, military and historical processes, from the point of art history, it is seen that Turkish music, calligraphy, and marbling peaked in the same centuries. Many great artists like Buhurizade Mustafa Itri, Hammamizade İsmail Dede Efendi, Kazasker Mustafa Izzet Efendi produced their important works in the 18^th and 19^th centuries. Mulla Sadra passed away in 1640. A very long time passed from the death of Ibn Rushd in 1193 until the death of Mulla Sadra. Unfortunately, we still haven’t been able to completely get rid of these categories in our minds. However, the works and studies of Professor Fuat Sezgin have provided us with very important clues in these areas.
It is of great importance to remember the legacy of Professor Fuat Sezgin and to deepen the history of science studies on his path. As a scientist who studied nearly 300,000 manuscripts throughout his life, he believed that he could only do one percent of the work that needed to be done. So, he left us a very important mission when he left this world. The great works that he fit into his sixty-odd years of scientific life form the basis of new studies. It is of great importance that we support these activities both individually and institutionally to keep this legacy alive and carry it into the future, and that we pursue and grow this path. I once again commemorate him with respect, expressing my belief that his works will guide the generations of today and tomorrow.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank our universities for organizing this symposium and express my gratitude to the esteemed scientists for their contributions. With my sincerest gratitude and congratulations to everyone who contributed to the richness of this program, where very important papers will be presented in almost every field of the history of Islamic science and thought, I salute you all with respect.

ANISINA