EDITORIAL

Abstract

The news of Professor Mahmoud Abu Saud’s death has saddened us
all. For several decades, he has been a prominent figure in the seminars
and conferences of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS),
the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), the Islamic Society
of North America (ISNA), the American Muslim Council (AMC), and
other Islamic and interfaith organizations. His passionate commitment to
the reconstruction of Islamic thought, as well as his tireless involvement
in writing, lecturing, and touring from country to country and from city
to city, were a great inspiration to our young scholars. As a learned
scholar, Social scientist, and, in particular, an economist, friend, and mentor,
he will be missed in many forums. He served as a referee for the
American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences (AJISS), and his comments
were always objective and straightforward. His ideas, ideals, and intellectual
and moral heritage will continue to inspire his friends and
students. We pray that Almighty Allah will cover him with His mercy
and also grant us patience and help us to emulate some of his extra-
The growth and development of MISS was one of the aspitations of
the late Mahmoud Abu Saud. Our constant struggle to enhance the intellectual
content of the journal will be a source of reward to the departed
soul of that great mujdhid. For verily “we belong to Allah and to Him we
return.“
This issue begins with Mahmoud Dhaouadi’s paper on Islamic
knowledge and the rise of the new science. In the last few decades,
Mahmoud Dhaouadi argues, western science has begun to shift from what
is called classical science to new science. This vision of the emerging
new science promises to heal the division between matter and spirit and
to do away with the mechanical dimension of the world. However, the
process of reconciliation between religion and science in modem western
culture still faces a great many hurdles. Islam, on the other hand, looks
at knowledge and science as a continuum whereby divine and human
knowledge and science both cooperate with and complement each other.
He gives examples from the practices of classical Muslim scholars, such
as Ibn Khaldin, who based their research on this approach. Knowledge ...