Abstractabstract:Adopting a cross-cultural perspective on hierophanies, this article not only explores the fundamental patterns of prophet Muhammad and Buddhas as expositors of cosmic light as interpreted in the Islamic and Buddhist traditions, but it also engages in comparative theological reflection on how Islam and Buddhism use the symbol of light in describing the cosmological and practical dimension of Muhammad's prophetic nature and the revelatory role of the Buddha. Examples are Nūr Muḥammadī, Muhammadan light, and Shin Buddhism's understanding of Amitābha/Amida Buddha (...) as the Buddha of Infinite Light with Śākyamuni, Siddhārtha Gautama, as the narrator of the Pure Land Sutras. This essay considers the role and perception of the Muslim prophet in relation to the role of the Buddhas as a shared motif for building appreciation between Islam and Shin-Buddhism. (shrink)

This is an era when the Islamic World is making a range of attempts to redefine itself and to grapple with the challenges of modernity. Many schools of thought have emerged which seek to position modern Islam within the context of a rapidly changing contemporary world. Exploring and defining the relationship between religion and knowledge, Ismail Rafi Al-Faruqi, a distinguished 20th century Arab-American scholar of Islam, formulated ideas which have made substantial contributions to the Islam-and-modernity discourse. His review of the (...) interaction between Islam and knowledge examines the philosophy behind this relationship, and the ways in which Islam can relate to our understanding of science, the arts, architecture, technology and other knowledge-based fields of enquiry. This book includes contributions from Seyyed Hossein Nasr, John Esposito, Charles Fletcher and others, and will prove an essential reference point for scholars of Islam and students of philosophy and comparative religion. (shrink)

This is an era when the Islamic World is making a range of attempts to redefine itself and to grapple with the challenges of modernity. Many schools of thought have emerged which seek to position modern Islam within the context of a rapidly changing contemporary world. Exploring and defining the relationship between religion and knowledge, Ismail Rafi Al-Faruqi, a distinguished 20th century Arab-American scholar of Islam, formulated ideas which have made substantial contributions to the Islam-and-modernity discourse. His review of the (...) interaction between Islam and knowledge examines the philosophy behind this relationship, and the ways in which Islam can relate to our understanding of science, the arts, architecture, technology and other knowledge-based fields of enquiry. This book includes contributions from Seyyed Hossein Nasr, John Esposito, Charles Fletcher and others, and will prove an essential reference point for scholars of Islam and students of philosophy and comparative religion. (shrink)