[Source – By Dr. Maryam Kiyani Farid]

It may be as important and fundamental to understand human knowledge and its place in the modern world as it is to return to and explore its history. The reason for this importance is itself significant and worthy of contemplation. It seems that this importance arises from a perspective that views today’s world in relation to its past and does not define them independently of each other. Today’s humanity is not unrelated to its past, and we cannot study and examine it in isolation from it. This is also highly significant in the sciences and their epistemological and non-epistemological boundaries. Studying the modern classification of science without considering its historical context seems futile. In the present text, Dr. Maryam Kiyani Farid, a faculty member of the Islamic Encyclopedia Foundation, has attempted to provide a brief overview of the classification methods of earlier thinkers.

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One of the topics that early Islamic philosophers and scholars focused on was the classification of sciences, where they examined the various prevalent sciences (not science in a general sense) in comparison to each other within a classification system that determined the place of each.

It can be said that a significant portion of the advancement of sciences is owed to the classification of sciences, detailed observations, and selective approaches, and these classifications have been essential for the precise study of sciences, effectively opening the door to scientific discoveries. In other words, one of the important stages of education and success in it is the correct division and arrangement of sciences and knowledge.

If the sciences are not properly classified and their precedence and succession are not clear, and if educational planning is not based on this, countless talents and lifetimes will be wasted, and proper results will not be achieved. Therefore, scholars, especially Islamic scholars, have always given importance to the classification and categorization of sciences. To the extent that some Western Orientalists have considered them influenced by Farabi in the discussions of science classification. Islamic scholars who have devoted considerable attention to the classification of sciences have sometimes written independent books and treatises on this subject. Among the independent works in this field, we can mention Farabi’s Enumeration of the Sciences (Ihsa al-Ulum), Avicenna’s (Ibn Sina) Epistle on the Divisions of the Rational Sciences (Risalah fi Aqsam al-‘Ulum al-‘Aqliyyah), and Nasir al-Din al-Tusi’s Treatise on the Divisions of Wisdom (Risalah fi Aqsam al-Hikmah).

It can be said that what emerged during the Islamic era is, in terms of quantity and quality, much broader and more comprehensive than what was transferred to us as foundational thoughts from the Greeks. This article will first examine the classification of sciences among Greek philosophers and then the classification of sciences among Muslim scholars.

The Classification of Sciences Among Greek Thinkers

From what is attributed to Plato, it appears that he divided the sciences into seven categories:

1. The First Divine Necessary Intellectual Science;
2. Philosophical;
3. Dialectical;
4. Sensory;
5. Legal;
6. Natural;
7. Productive.

Aristotle, in his book Metaphysics, divided the sciences into three categories: theoretical, practical, and productive. In al-Alf al-Sughra, he first divided sciences into two categories: theoretical and practical. Then, he divided theoretical science into natural sciences, teachings (mathematics), and theology. The criterion for the division of science into theoretical and practical was the purpose (ghayah) of the discipline, deeming the purpose of theoretical knowledge to be truth and the purpose of practical knowledge to be action. Sadr al-Muta’allihin (Mulla Sadra), in his annotations on al-Shifa, stated that Aristotle and his followers divided theoretical wisdom into four categories and distinguished between general science, which discusses the types of existence, and divine science, which deals with issues specific to the First Principle.

Kindi (185-260 AH) divided Aristotle’s works into four types: logic (which includes eight categories), natural sciences, what is independent of nature but related to the body (such as the soul), and what is independent of nature and has no connection with it (metaphysics). After these come the books on ethics. All these categories should be studied after mathematics, which itself includes four categories: the science of numbers, geometry, astronomy (cosmology), and composition (music).

Thus, Aristotle’s division of the sciences was more or less adopted by Muslim scholars, who expanded and systematized it. As is evident, specific sciences such as history do not have a place in Aristotle’s classification of sciences, and it can be said that such sciences, from his perspective, lack scientific status.

The Classification of Sciences Among Early Islamic Scholars

Ibn Bahriz (184-246 AH), considering the purpose of philosophy, which in his view is the adornment of the soul’s life in both scientific and practical aspects, initially divided philosophy into two categories: theoretical philosophy, which is responsible for the adornment of the soul’s intellectual life, and practical philosophy, which involves the adornment of the soul’s practical life. In the division of theoretical philosophy, he regarded things as either sensible or non-sensible, and he called the knowledge of non-sensible things the highest science. According to him, sensible things are either such that separation from matter is impossible both in reality and in imagination (lower science) or they are such that separation from matter is possible in imagination (science of literature).

In this case, it is divided into four categories: either it is continuous and organized in terms of quantity or discrete in terms of quantity. Continuous quantity is either moving (the science of astronomy) or non-moving (the science of geometry). Discrete quantity is either similar, meaning its parts are interconnected (the science of tunes, which is apparently the same as the science of music or composition), or discrete quantity that is not similar (the science of arithmetic). Regarding the divisions of practical philosophy, he believed that practical philosophy is either related to the inhabitants of a city (general politics), specific to the inhabitants of a household (private politics), or related to personal matters of an individual (ethics refinement).

Abu Yusuf Ya’qub al-Kindi (185-260 AH) based his classification on reason and revelation. Therefore, he divided the sciences into human sciences, which are obtained through human effort, and prophetic divine sciences, which are acquired without effort and discussion.

Abu Nasr al-Farabi (258-339 AH) put in more effort on this topic than his predecessors, and the results of his work can be found in his book Ihsa al-Ulum. In this book, he divided the sciences into six general categories and mentioned the subdivisions of each:

1. Linguistics: Necessary for learning logic (with seven subcategories);
2. Logic: Provides laws that strengthen the intellect and is therefore considered the chief of sciences (with eight parts);
3. Mathematics: Also known as the science of teachings (with seven categories);
4. Natural Science: Studies natural bodies or the properties that depend on these bodies (with eight sections);
5. Divine Science: (with three categories);
6. Political Science: (with two categories).

The Rasa’il Ikhwan al-Safa (Epistles of the Brethren of Purity), written around 350 AH and later, are another source that discusses the classification of sciences. In these epistles, sciences are initially divided into three categories. According to them, the sciences that humans acquire are of three types:

1. Mathematical Sciences: Established for the pursuit of livelihood and the improvement of worldly life, comprising nine types (including: linguistics, arithmetic, magic, alchemy, mechanics, crafts, and industries);
2. Revealed Religious Sciences: Established for the pursuit of the afterlife, comprising six types (revelation, interpretation, jurisprudence, asceticism, mysticism, and hadith);
3. Philosophical Sciences: Comprising four types (mathematics, logic, natural sciences, and theology).

According to them, each of the philosophical sciences has its subdivisions:

– Mathematics: Four types (arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music);

– Logic: Nine types (categories, propositions, first analytics, second analytics, topics, sophistics, categories, interpretation, and definitions);

– Natural Sciences: Seven types (principles of physical bodies, the heavens and the world, generation and corruption of atmosphere, meteorology, minerals, plants, and animals);

– Theology: Five types (knowledge of the Almighty, the science of spiritual beings which includes the knowledge of simple substances, emanation and psychic sciences which include the knowledge of the soul, and eschatology is also included in these sciences, politics which means the way of dealing with others and is itself divided into five types: prophetic politics, royal politics, general or civic politics, private or household management, and personal ethics).

Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Khwarizmi (circa 318-380 AH), in his book Mafatih al-Ulum, written between the years 367 and 372 AH, based the classification of sciences on Sharia sciences or Arabic sciences and non-Arabic sciences. In other words, in his division, he focused on the origin and place of development of the sciences. Based on the categories that al-Khwarizmi outlined for each of the mentioned sciences, it can be understood that by non-Arabic sciences, he meant rational sciences, and he referred to Arabic sciences as Sharia sciences. Al-Khwarizmi divided Arabic or Sharia sciences into six main categories and fifty-two subcategories, detailed as follows:

– Jurisprudence (Fiqh) with eleven subcategories;

– Theology (Kalam) with seven subcategories;

– Grammar (Nahw) with twelve subcategories;

– Secretarial Science or Writing (Dabir) with eight subcategories;

– Poetry and Prosody (Shi’r and ‘Arud) with five subcategories;

– Histories (Akhbar) with nine subcategories.

In his view, non-Arabic sciences, i.e., the sciences of the Greeks and other nations, are divided into nine main categories and forty-one subcategories:

– Philosophy with three categories;

– Logic with nine subcategories;

– Medicine with eight categories;

– Arithmetic with five categories;

– Geometry with four categories;

– Astronomy with four categories;

– Music with three categories;

– Mechanics with two categories;

– Alchemy with three subcategories.

Ibn al-Nadim, Abu al-Faraj Muhammad ibn Ishaq (297-380 AH), in his book al-Fihrist, written in 377 AH, provided a list of the books of previous nations, both Arab and non-Arab, that were available in the Arabic language in various scientific fields. He also included a history of the authors and the classifications of writers and their biographies, from the beginning of each science until his own time, indirectly addressing the classification of sciences.

Abu al-Hasan Amiri, Muhammad ibn Yusuf (d. 381 AH), was also among those who paid attention to the classification of sciences. In his initial division, like Al-Khwarizmi and the Brethren of Purity (in the manner mentioned), he based the classification of sciences on reason and revelation, dividing the sciences into national (religious) and philosophical. According to him, national sciences are of three types: sensory, which is the duty of the Hadith scholars; rational, which is the duty of the theologians; and mixed, which is the responsibility of the jurists. The tool and instrument of these sciences is language. Philosophical sciences, which according to Amiri, have logic as their instrument, are of three types: sensory, which is investigated by the natural scientist; rational, which is undertaken by the divine scientist; and mixed, which concerns the mathematician.

Abu Sahl, Isa ibn Yahya al-Masihi al-Jurjani (d. 390 or 401 AH), in his treatise Asnaf al-Ulum al-Hikmiyyah (Categories of Philosophical Sciences), defined sciences and listed their categories without a logical order. According to him, sciences in their initial division are of two types: the first type is called universal science, by naming the whole after its part, and because this type of science considers all beings and all their aspects. Universal science is divided into two categories:

1. The first category of universal science examines beings and the various aspects of simple beings in terms of their existence. Then it investigates the unity and its categories. Al-Jurjani considered such a science beyond human capacity and believed that only a limited number have reached it. This science is called universal science, divine science, and metaphysics.
2. The second category of universal science examines beings in terms of their composite, numerous, and changing nature. According to him, the number of people who possess such a science, which is called natural science, is greater than those who possess divine science.

The other type of science is particular science, which examines specific beings and their properties and requisites in terms of their specificity. Some particular sciences are: geometry, arithmetic, astronomy, music, medicine, agriculture, and alchemy. According to Abu Sahl, particular sciences, in comparison to universal science, are not truly sciences because:

• They are particular and only consider specific beings;
• They are incomplete and do not consider all aspects of those specific beings;
• They are not true because they do not examine those specific beings as they truly are.

Ultimately, particular sciences merely prepare the soul for receiving universal science. Abu Sahl considered some sciences, such as medicine, to have both theoretical and practical aspects, and he called some other sciences, such as agriculture, vocational crafts (sina’at mihaniyyah). He considered the purpose of ethics, politics, and civil matters to be action, and these sciences are considered superior in terms of being put into practice but inferior in terms of being purely scientific. According to him, since there is a possibility of error and mistake in all sciences, the existence of a criterion to distinguish correct from incorrect and true from false is necessary, and logic is responsible for such a task.

Abu Ali Sina (370-428 AH) also paid great attention to the classification of sciences and discussed this topic in several books and treatises, sometimes examining it in detail. He examined the classification of sciences in Danishnama-i ‘Alai, Logic of the Orientals, Treatise on the Divisions of Rational Sciences, Logic of Healing, Theology of Healing, and in the sections on logic and natural sciences in Uyūn al-Hikmah. His most precise classification is found in Logic of the Orientals. According to his division in the mentioned book, sciences in their primary division either are such that their judgments do not apply to all ages and times, but only to a particular period, or they are equally relevant to all parts of time, and this type of science is called wisdom (hikmah). Wisdom itself includes principles and branches. Among its branches are medicine, agriculture, and also particular sciences related to astronomy and other industries. However, the principles of wisdom, or as Avicenna calls them, the main sciences, are either used as tools for learning other sciences (logic) or are used for their own sake.

This type of science, if its purpose is solely the purification of the soul, is called theoretical science. If its purpose, in addition to the purification of the soul, is to bring something into action that has been conceptualized in the mind, it is called practical science. As previously mentioned, it becomes clear that the division of wisdom into instrumental and non-instrumental, and the division of non-instrumental into theoretical and practical, did not exist before Avicenna. In Logic of Healing, Avicenna describes the purpose of philosophy as understanding the truths of things to the extent of human capability. According to him, existing things are either those whose existence is not dependent on our will and action (theoretical philosophy) or matters whose existence depends on our will and action (practical philosophy).

The goal of theoretical philosophy is to perfect the soul by learning and knowing, in other words, the goal is the knowledge of the truth. The goal of practical philosophy is also to perfect the soul by knowing in order to act, in other words, the goal is the knowledge of good. Theoretical philosophy is either mixed with motion or not mixed with motion. Matters mixed with motion either do not exist except in such a way that association with motion is possible for them, or they have another type of existence. The first type either cannot be separated from matter in its essence and imagination (natural science), or its separation from specific matter is not correct in essence but is correct in imagination (mathematics). The type that has another existence besides being mixed with motion can be separated from motion in both essence and imagination (divine science). Practical philosophy either relates to learning opinions that organize public participation of humans (politics or political science).

In Danishnama-i ‘Alai, Avicenna includes two types in this category: one is the science of how to establish religious laws, and the other is the science of how to conduct policies, effectively distinguishing between the governance of a city by a prophet and otherwise. Practical philosophy either relates to opinions that organize private participation of humans (household management) or relates to opinions that improve an individual’s state in the purification of the soul (ethics). In Treatise on the Divisions of Rational Sciences, Avicenna listed the principles and branches of each type of theoretical wisdom and stated that natural science or lower science has eight principles: celestial bodies, the heavens and the world, generation and corruption, meteorology, minerals, plants, the nature of animals, the soul, and sensory perception. Its branches include: judgments of stars, physiognomy, dream interpretation, talismanic science, magical science, and alchemy.

Mathematics or intermediate science has four principles: arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music. The branches of arithmetic are: addition, subtraction, algebra, and equations. The branches of geometry are: surveying, mechanics, weights and balances. The branches of astronomy are: astronomical tables and calendars. Divine science or higher science has five principles: the study of general meanings, the study of principles and origins, the study of proving the First Truth and monotheism, the study of proving the First Substance, and the conquest of physical substances. Among its branches are the nature of revelation, spiritual substances, and eschatology.

Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi (384-456 AH), in his treatise Maratib al-Ulum, initially divided sciences into two categories: sciences specific to a single nation, which include the science of Sharia, the science of history, and the science of language; and sciences shared among different nations, which include astronomy, arithmetic, medicine, and philosophy. After mentioning the categories of each of these sciences, he considered them beneficial for the hereafter and the afterlife, and he regarded sciences that are useful for the improvement of worldly matters, such as trade and agriculture. His basis for classification is, on one hand, the benefit of the science, meaning its usefulness for the world or the hereafter, and on the other hand, the source of knowledge (revelation or reason).

Muhammad al-Ghazali (450-505 AH), in his book Ihya’ Ulum al-Din, divided sciences into Sharia (religious) and non-Sharia sciences, and then categorized non-Sharia sciences into commendable, blameworthy, and permissible. In another classification, he divided sciences into individually obligatory (fard ‘ayn) and communally obligatory (fard kifayah). Accordingly, individually obligatory sciences are specific to some branches of Sharia sciences, and communally obligatory sciences, in addition to other branches of Sharia sciences, also include some branches of non-Sharia sciences.

Zain al-Din Umar ibn Sahlān (from the scholars of the sixth century) in his treatise Tabṣirah, classified the rational sciences into three categories:

1. Logic, which prevents the seeker of knowledge from errors and mistakes.
2. Natural Science, which explains bodies and their motions and rest.
3. Divine Science, which explains the proof of the Creator, His purification, sanctification, and the manner of His influence in creating possible things.

Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (died 606 AH), in his book Jami’ al-‘Ulum (The Compendium of Sciences), listed sixty sciences and explained the principles of each science. In the section on logic from his commentary on Uyūn al-Hikmah, he divided science as follows:

• Science is either learned as an aid in acquiring other sciences (logic) or learned for its own sake.
• If learned for its own sake, it is either something whose existence is not within our control (theoretical science) or something whose existence is within our control (practical science).

Theoretical science is either:

1. Knowledge of something that is related to matter both in reality and in the mind (natural science).
2. Knowledge of something that is related to matter in reality but separate from matter in the mind (mathematics).
3. Knowledge of something that is not related to matter either in reality or in the mind (divine science).

Regarding the divisions of practical science, al-Razi believed that practical science either:

1. Discusses virtues and vices that pertain to the individual alone (ethics).
2. Discusses matters shared between an individual and their family members (household management).
3. Discusses matters shared between an individual and other people (politics).

Khwaja Nasir al-Din Abu Ja’far Muhammad al-Tusi (597-672 AH), in his independent treatise Aqsam al-Hikmah (Divisions of Wisdom), classified sciences and divided wisdom into two categories:

1. Theoretical Wisdom, which itself is divided into three categories:
   • Natural Science (comprising eight categories).
   • Mathematics (comprising four principles and six branches).
   • Divine Science (comprising five principles).
2. Practical Wisdom, which is divided into three categories:
   • Ethics.
   • Household Management.
   • Politics.

He believed that logic is the instrument and servant of sciences and consists of nine categories:

• Isagoge (Introduction),
• Categories,
• On Interpretation,
• First Analytics (Syllogism),
• Second Analytics (Demonstration),
• Topics (Dialectics),
• Sophistics (Fallacies),
• Rhetoric,
• Poetics.

Accordingly, in al-Tusi’s view, the total number of divisions of wisdom and logic is forty-four, and the total number of divisions of wisdom without logic is thirty-five.

Shams al-Din al-Shahrazuri (died after 680 AH), in his treatise Taqasim al-Ulum (Divisions of the Sciences), discussed the classification of sciences in a manner similar to Ibn Sina but with some innovations. In the initial division, like Ibn Sina and following Fakhr al-Din al-Razi and Khwaja al-Tusi, he divided science into instrumental and non-instrumental. However, according to him, instrumental science is either related to intellectual and spiritual matters (which he calls logic) or not related to intellectual matters. In the latter case, it is either related to language or not.

Instrumental linguistic science is either conditioned by order (in which case it is called poetry and its instrument is prosody and rhyme) or considers the essence of the word. In this case, it either examines the attributes, forms, and movements that befall the word (grammar) or considers the arrangement of words and their positions appropriate to their meanings (rhetoric and eloquence). Instrumental science that is not related to language but rather to the hand and visual perception is calligraphy. This division of instrumental sciences had no precedent before al-Shahrazuri. Although some predecessors considered sciences such as poetry, grammar, rhetoric, eloquence, and calligraphy as part of the sciences, they did so differently from al-Shahrazuri. For instance, al-Farabi, in Ihsa al-Ulum, considered linguistics, grammar, morphology, poetry, and calligraphy as branches of the science of language, and al-Khwarizmi, in Mafatih al-Ulum, included sciences such as grammar, calligraphy, and poetry among the categories of Sharia sciences or Arabic sciences.

Al-Shahrazuri considered theoretical wisdom and practical wisdom as the two categories of non-instrumental sciences and mentioned the subdivisions of each. According to him, matters are either such that they are not related to our actions and deeds, like the existence of the heavens and elements, whose existence or non-existence is not influenced by our actions; this type of matter is discussed in theoretical wisdom, and its goal is the attainment of certain and pure truth. Otherwise, practical wisdom undertakes its discussion, and its goal is to achieve something for practical application, or in other words, pure good.

From his perspective, matters under discussion fall into two categories: either matters like the essence of the Almighty and intellects, whose existence, non-existence, and limits are not related to material substances and motion (divine science or the highest science); or matters that are in some way related to materials. In this case, they are either such that their relation to material is possible (universal science, which includes all divisions of existence and matters such as unity and multiplicity, causality and effect, universality and particularity, potentiality and actuality, necessity and possibility); the other type of matters related to material substances is such that their relation to material substances is necessary and falls into two categories.

The first category consists of matters that can be abstracted by imagination and do not need particular material and potentiality for their existence; or such matters do not exist. The first category is called middle wisdom and includes mathematics and instructional science. Al-Shahrazuri, like Ibn Bahriz and some of his contemporaries, held that mathematics is divided into four categories. Since quantity is its subject, it is either continuous or discrete; continuous quantity is either moving (astronomy) or stationary (geometry), and discrete quantity is either such that its parts have a relation to each other (music) or its parts do not have a relation to each other (arithmetic). The second type of matters whose relation to material is necessary is such that it needs material both in reality and in imagination and limits (natural science).

Regarding the divisions of practical wisdom, al-Shahrazuri, like some predecessors such as Ibn Bahriz, al-Farabi, Abu Ali Sina, Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, and his contemporary Khwaja al-Tusi, believed that practical wisdom is either specific to an individual (ethics) or specific to a group of people. If the individuals share a household, it is called household management; if they share a city, it is called political science.

Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi (634-710 AH), in his book Durrah al-Taj li-Ghurrat al-Dibaj, in the initial division, like Ibn Sina in Logic of the Orientals, divided sciences based on whether they have a uniform relation to all times and nations or not, into two categories. He named the first category philosophical science and the second non-philosophical science. He further divided non-philosophical science into religious and non-religious categories. According to him, wisdom is knowing things as they are, and things are also divided into two categories:

1. The first category consists of those whose existence does not depend on the voluntary movements of human beings (knowledge of these is theoretical wisdom).
2. The second category consists of things whose existence depends on human intervention and management (knowledge of these is called practical wisdom).

Theoretical wisdom, or knowledge of things such as Allah the Almighty, intellects, and souls, does not require association with matter for their existence (metaphysics or the highest science); or it is knowledge of things that cannot exist without association with matter. This latter type is either such that the consideration of association with matter is not a condition for its intellect and conception (mathematics or intermediate science); or it is such that it is known through the consideration of association with matter (natural science or the lowest science).

After explaining the divisions of theoretical science, he mentioned the principles and branches of each. Among the principles of metaphysics is the knowledge of Allah, the Exalted, and His closest entities (divine science); as well as the knowledge of general matters which are the conditions of beings in terms of their existence (first philosophy). Among its branches, he listed the knowledge of prophethood, imamate, and the conditions of the afterlife.

In his view, the principles of mathematics are of four types:

1. The knowledge of quantities and their related properties (geometry),
2. The knowledge of numbers and their properties (arithmetic),
3. The knowledge of the different positions of celestial bodies in relation to each other and to terrestrial bodies, and the quantities of their movements and their distances (astronomy and cosmology),
4. The knowledge of musical ratios and their conditions (music).

The branches of mathematics include: optics, algebra, mechanics, surveying, addition, subtraction, engineering tricks, moving spheres, weights and measures, astronomical tables, and calendars.

The principles of natural science are of eight types: physics, the heavens and the world, generation and corruption, meteorology, the science of minerals, the science of plants, the science of animals, and the science of the soul. Among the branches of natural science are: medicine, astrology, agriculture, physiognomy, dream interpretation, alchemy, talismanic science, and magical sciences.

According to Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi, practical wisdom is also divided initially into two categories: it is either related to each individual soul separately, which is the refinement of ethics, or it is related to the community. The latter is further divided into two categories: if the community shares a household, it is managed by the science of household management; if the community shares a city, it is called political science. Like Ibn Sina and following him, al-Shahrazuri, Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi considered political science or civil wisdom to be of two types. According to him, if civil wisdom pertains to kings and rulers, it is called the science of politics, and if it pertains to prophethood, it is called the science of legislations.

In explaining the categories of religious sciences, he believed that science is either such that it can be comprehended by reason but not by tradition (rational science) or can be understood solely through transmitted evidence with no path for reason (transmitted science) or can be known through both rational and transmitted evidence. According to Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi, due to the precedence of reason over tradition, the third category should also be considered a rational science. He believed that anything that can be proven through rational evidence (whether it can also be proven through transmitted evidence or not) is called the principles of religion. Anything that cannot be proven except through auditory evidence is called the branches of religion. In his view, the principles of religion are of four types: knowledge of the Creator’s essence; knowledge of His attributes, both attributes of majesty (e.g., distinguishing the Almighty from temporality and possibility) and attributes of perfection and nobility (life, knowledge, power, will, hearing, sight, speech, mercy, generosity, and forgiveness); knowledge of His actions and states; and knowledge of prophethood, apostleship, and their wisdom. The branches of religion are also of two types:

1. The first type is intended and has four pillars:
– The first pillar is the knowledge of the Quran (in 12 aspects): recitation, pauses, vocabulary, syntax, abrogation and abrogated, interpretation, stories, derivation of meanings, guidance, rhetoric, and semantics.
– The second pillar is the knowledge of hadith.
– The third pillar is the principles of jurisprudence.
– The fourth pillar is jurisprudence.

2. The second type of the branches of religion is the subsidiary sciences, which is the science of literature and consists of 12 types: lexicography, morphology, etymology, syntax, semantics, rhetoric, prosody, rhyming, prose composition, borrowing, poetry, calligraphy, and anecdotes.

Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Akfani (died 749 AH), in his book Irshad al-Qasid, initially divided science into two categories: that which is sought for its own sake and that which is not sought for its own sake. In his view, the science sought for its own sake consists of philosophical sciences, and by wisdom here, he means the perfection of the rational soul in its theoretical and practical faculties, according to human capability. He believed that the perfection of the rational soul in its theoretical faculties is for the attainment of certain beliefs in the knowledge of beings and their conditions, and the perfection of the soul in its practical faculties is achieved through the purification of the soul by acquiring virtues and avoiding vices. Thus, Ibn Akfani also divided philosophical sciences into theoretical and practical. He then divided theoretical wisdom into three categories:

1. The highest science or divine science, which deals with matters abstracted from material substance and its associations.
2. The lowest science or natural science, which deals with material matters both in the mind and outside.
3. The intermediate science or mathematical science, which deals with matters that are abstracted from material only in the mind.

He divided mathematical science into four categories: geometry, astronomy, arithmetic, and music. In his view, the divisions of practical wisdom are politics, ethics, and household management. However, sciences that are not sought for their own sake but for the sake of obtaining something else fall into two categories: they either pertain to meanings, for which logic is responsible, or to matters such as words and writing, through which meanings are obtained, and the science responsible for that is called literature.

Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn Mahmoud Amuli (a thinker of the 8th century AH), in his book Nafais al-Funun fi Ara’is al-Uyun, written around the year 750 AH, classified sciences in a manner different from his predecessors. His basis for the classification of sciences was the temporal precedence or succession relative to the advent of Islam, dividing sciences into early and later sciences. According to him, later sciences comprise eighty-five sciences, arranged into thirty-six arts within nine categories. Among these are literature, which includes fifteen arts such as calligraphy, linguistics, etymology, morphology, syntax, semantics, rhetoric, and similar fields.

In his view, early sciences encompass seventy-five sciences, some of which are as follows: Practical wisdom includes the refinement of ethics, political science, and household management. Theoretical wisdom includes logic (which itself has nine divisions), first philosophy (comprising general matters and substances and existential and conceptual properties), divine science (including the Necessary Being and His attributes, intellects, and souls), the science of natural bodies and the constituents of bodies (comprising seven divisions). The principles of mathematics include four arts: geometry, the foundations of astronomy and cosmology, arithmetic which is the properties of numbers, and the science of composition (music). The branches of natural sciences include ten arts: medicine (with eight divisions), alchemy, magic (comprising three arts: talismans, invocation of stars, and incantations), interpretation, physiognomy, astrology, the science of properties, natural crafts, blood, and imagination. According to him, the total of early and later sciences includes one hundred and sixty sciences.

Abu Zayd Abd al-Rahman ibn Khaldun (732-806 or 808 AH), in his book Muqaddimah, classified sciences. In his initial classification, like some of his predecessors, particularly al-Ghazali and Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi, he based his classification on the source of knowledge and divided sciences into those comprising wisdom and philosophy and transmitted sciences, which are established and based on reports from religious authorities. These include sciences such as exegesis, the science of recitation, hadith, principles of jurisprudence, jurisprudence, and theology.

From his perspective, the categories of rational sciences are:

1. Logic, which prevents the mind from error in learning unknown matters from known ones and its benefit is to distinguish truth from falsehood in thoughts.
2. Natural Science (Physics), which involves contemplation of sensible objects.
3. Divine Science (Metaphysics), which involves contemplation of matters beyond nature.
4. Mathematical Science, which involves contemplation of quantities and is divided into four categories:
– Geometry, which involves contemplation of quantities in general, both discrete as numbers and continuous.
– Arithmetic, which is the knowledge of discrete quantities that are numbers and the acquisition of properties and attributes that accompany them.
– Music, which is the knowledge of the ratios between tones and their measurement by numbers.
– Astronomy, which involves determining the shapes of the celestial spheres and their configurations and numbers.

Kamal al-Din Husayn ibn Mu’in al-Din Maybudi (a scholar of the second half of the 9th century AH), in his commentary on Hidayat al-Athariyyah, after explaining the meaning of wisdom as the knowledge of the conditions of existing entities, to the extent of human capability, as they truly are in their essence, stated that these entities are either related to actions that are within our control and power (practical wisdom) or related to actions whose existence is not within our control (theoretical wisdom).

The categories of practical wisdom are:

1. The knowledge of individual benefits to adorn oneself with moral virtues and cleanse oneself of moral vices (ethics).
2. The knowledge of communal benefits for those who share a household (household management).
3. The knowledge of communal benefits for those who share a city (civil politics).

The categories of theoretical wisdom are:

1. The knowledge of the conditions of entities that do not require matter for their external existence or intellectual comprehension, which is called divine science, first philosophy, universal science, metaphysics, and rarely pre-physics.
2. The knowledge of the conditions of entities that require matter for their external existence but do not need matter for intellectual comprehension, which is called intermediate science, mathematics, or instructional science.
3. The knowledge of the conditions of entities that require matter for both their external existence and intellectual comprehension, which is called lower science or natural science.

Ahmad ibn Mustafa, known as Taskoprizade (901-968 AH), in his book Miftah al-Sa’adah wa Misbah al-Siyadah fi Mawdu’at al-Ulum, mentioned various sciences, their subjects, and the expert teachers in these sciences. In this book, the types of sciences are divided into seven major sections as follows: rhetoric, eloquence, logic, theoretical philosophy, practical philosophy, positive theoretical science, and positive practical science. The content of this book indicates that the author consistently utilized Risalah Irshad al-Qasid and some other preceding works, adding some of his own material in certain cases. Moreover, he mostly selected the definitions of sciences directly from other books. In this book, after mentioning each science, he briefly provided its definition, subject, goal, purpose, and benefit.

Dawood al-Antaki (died 1008 AH), in his book Tadhkirat Uli al-Albab, narrated six classifications of sciences:

First Classification: Science is divided into two categories: conception and assent.

1. Conception: It is the formation of an image in the mind, and its materials include types of words and indications, the five universals, and explanatory statements (including definitions and descriptions).
2. Assent: It is the judgment of the formed image or knowledge of that judgment, and its materials include types of propositions such as categorical, conditional, convertible, modal, the converse of propositions, syllogisms, conditions of syllogisms, the results of syllogisms, and similar matters.

The science that deals with these two categories is called logic.

Second Classification: In the initial division, science falls into two categories: either it is sought for its own sake or for the sake of something else.

1. Science sought for its own sake is either for the perfection of the soul in its theoretical faculty (theoretical science) or for the perfection of the soul in its practical faculty (practical science).
   • Theoretical Science: Based on the subject matter, it is divided into three categories:
     1. The subject matter does not involve matter in any way (divine science).
     2. The subject matter necessarily involves matter (natural science).
     3. The subject matter is such that it typically involves matter, even if it does not (mathematics).
   • Practical Science: It is also divided into three categories:
     1. It deals with the refinement of the soul concerning personal virtues (personal management).
     2. It deals with the refinement of the soul in proper conduct with spouse and children (household management).
     3. It deals with the refinement of the soul concerning the preservation of the ideal city, which maintains the system (political science).
2. Science sought for the sake of something else falls into two categories:
   1. It leads to meanings, with words being incidental (logic).
   2. Words are intrinsic to it (literature).

Third Classification: In this classification, the author explains in a manner different from previous methods that if the subject of science is words and writing, its benefit is to manifest matters that are within the soul, and its goal is the adornment of language and expression, then it is the science of literature with its ten genres: lexicography, morphology, semantics, rhetoric, eloquence, prosody, rhyme, grammar, orthography, and the rules of recitation.

If the subject of science is the mind, and its benefit is to enhance intuition, thought, and rational capability, and its goal is to keep the mind from error in thinking, then it is the science of logic or the balance of thought.

A science that considers abstract entities, with the benefit of ensuring the correctness of belief and the goal of achieving happiness in both worlds, is called divine science. A science that deals with matters that are material both externally and mentally, with the subject being the body, its benefit the preservation of health, and its goal treatment, is called anatomy.

Fourth Classification: According to this classification, science is divided into four types:

1. Knowledge of mental matters that manifest from external indicators, such as the science of physiognomy.
2. Knowledge of actual matters that manifest from mental indicators, such as the science of dream interpretation.
3. Knowledge of matters with external material but no external form, such as astronomy.
4. Knowledge of matters with no external material but with external form, such as logic.

This classification by al-Antaki does not encompass all realized sciences and lacks comprehensiveness.

Fifth Classification: This classification, which also does not encompass all sciences, states that knowledge is either:

1. Reasoning with higher knowledge about higher knowledge,
2. Reasoning with higher knowledge about lower knowledge,
3. Reasoning with lower knowledge about lower knowledge.

In this classification, the criterion is the superiority or inferiority of the indicator and the indicated.

Sixth Classification: Science is either such that the mind employs mental material or the mind employs external material. In the second category, either higher external material is used, or lower external material, or a combination of both. The category in which mental material is used has several subdivisions: either it concerns numbers, which are further divided into those that pertain to transactions or unknowns, or knowns, or simple compositions, or those related to specific organs.

Antaki considers another criterion for the classification of sciences, which is whether the basis of the sciences is the mind, the language, or the body. The principles of sciences based on the mind are fifteen: logic, arithmetic, astronomy, geometry, primary and secondary philosophy, theology, natural sciences, celestial sciences, the heavens, the world, judgments, optics, music, arithmetic, and the five arts.

If the basis is language, its principles are: lexicography, semantics, rhetoric, eloquence, prosody, rhyme, etymology, grammar, morphology, recitation, phonetics, articulation points, division of letters, and the distribution of literary terms.

If the basis is the body, its principles are: medicine, anatomy, formulations, swimming, composition of instruments, kohl (eye medicine), surgery, fracture treatment, physiognomy, pulse, the study of the sea (oceanography), climates, atmospheric effects, sports, and politics.

Ultimately, religions form the basis of sciences. Their principles include: interpretation of the scripture, tradition, narration, understanding, jurisprudence, dialectics, debate, sects, deduction, principles, and beliefs.

Mustafa ibn Abdullah, known as Haji Khalifa (who lived in the first half of the 11th century AH), in his book Kashf al-Zunun ‘an Asami al-Kutub wa al-Funun, wrote: Knowledge, although it has a single essence and a single meaning, is divided into various kinds from different perspectives. From one perspective, it is divided into eternal and temporal; from the perspective of its subject, it is divided into conception and assent. From the perspective of its method of acquisition, it is divided into three kinds: that which is established in the soul, that which is perceived through the senses, and that which is known through reasoning. Knowledge, from the perspective of the diversity of its subjects, is divided into many categories, some of which are sciences and some arts.

Haji Khalifa then goes on to explain the different classifications of sciences based on the diversity of their subjects.

First Division: The recorded sciences are divided into two categories. The first category consists of those sciences that the scholars of Sharia compiled to explain the words of the Quran or the Prophetic tradition in terms of their wording or attribution, to clarify the intended meaning of the Quran through interpretation and exegesis, to establish primary doctrinal or secondary practical rulings, and similar matters. The second category consists of those sciences that philosophers compiled to study things as they are and to explain the nature of knowledge according to reason. According to Haji Khalifa, Ahmad ibn Yahya Muhammad Harawi, known as Hafid Tiftazani (died 916 AH), was the originator of this division.

Second Division: This division is mentioned in Fawa’id Khaghani and itself includes two subdivisions: one divides science into theoretical (not related to practical application) and practical (related to practical application); the other divides science into non-instrumental (sought for its own sake) and instrumental (not sought for its own sake). In reality, instrumental science is inherently a means to acquire something else, so the meaning of instrumental science returns to practical science. On the other hand, theoretical science and non-instrumental science also return to the same meaning. Haji Khalifa then explains three different uses of theoretical and practical science:

First Use: In the general division of sciences, theoretical science is defined as science that is not related to practical application, and practical science is science that is related to practical application. Based on this, logic, practical wisdom, practical medicine, and the science of tailoring all fall under practical science because they all relate to practical application, whether mental or external.

Second Use: After defining wisdom as the knowledge of the conditions of existing entities, to the extent of human capability, as they truly are, Haji Khalifa states that existing entities are either actions and deeds that exist by our power and choice, or not. The knowledge of the conditions of entities that exist by our power and choice, in a way that leads to the improvement of worldly and otherworldly matters, is practical wisdom. The knowledge of the conditions of entities that do not exist by our choice is theoretical wisdom.

Third Use: Practical art is that which requires practical experience and exercise to attain, whereas theoretical art does not require practice and exercise. In this sense, sciences such as jurisprudence, grammar, logic, practical wisdom, and practical medicine, which do not require practice and exercise to attain, are not considered practical sciences. Conversely, sciences such as tailoring and cupping, which depend on practice and exercise, are types of practical art.

Third Division: Haji Khalifa’s third division, also mentioned in Fawa’id Khaghani and somewhat similar to Qutb al-Din Shirazi’s division in Durrah al-Taj, is as follows: Science is either philosophical or non-philosophical. Non-philosophical science is either religious or non-religious. Religious science is either commendable, blameworthy, or permissible.

Fourth Division: According to the author of Shifa al-Mut’alim, science is either sought for its own sake or not. The first type is philosophical science, which is divided into theoretical and practical. Theoretical wisdom is divided into three categories: higher science (divine), lower science (natural), and intermediate science (mathematical). Practical wisdom is also divided into two categories:

1. Ethics, which pertains only to the individual.
2. Politics, which is further divided into several categories:
   • It may concern the regulation of all people in matters of livelihood and the afterlife, which relates back to the science of Sharia.
   • It may concern the rulings of kings and politics.
   • It may be specific to a particular group, which is household management.

He does not consider non-philosophical science as sought for its own sake and believes that such science, if meant to prevent errors in meanings, is logic; if meant to prevent errors in words, it is the science of literature; and if meant to prevent errors in writing, it is the science of calligraphy.

Fifth Division: According to the author of Miftah al-Sa’adah, Haji Khalifa considers this the best classification. According to this division, things in terms of existence are in four ranks: writing, expression, minds, and entities, with each rank serving as a means to reach the next. The science related to the rank of entities is either practical, where its aim is to achieve something else through it, or theoretical, where its aim is the knowledge itself. Each of the two categories, theoretical and practical, is either derived from Sharia or according to reason.

The last classification we examine in this writing is that of Sadr al-Muta’allehin (Mulla Sadra, died 1050 AH). In his commentary on Hidayat al-Athiriyyah, Mulla Sadra divided wisdom into two categories: practical and theoretical. He believed that in theoretical wisdom, the knowledge itself is the objective, whereas in practical wisdom, the application of that knowledge to existence or the prevention of that knowledge in existence is the objective. In his view, theoretical wisdom is superior because in practical wisdom, knowledge is a means and action is the end. Additionally, in theoretical wisdom, the theoretical faculty of the soul is perfected, and the theoretical faculty is the higher aspect of the soul. Theoretical wisdom is divided into three categories:

1. Higher Science: This includes two subcategories:
   • General Science, which includes the divisions of existence and is called first philosophy, being primary to other sciences.
   • Divine Science, which is the discipline of separate entities and is called theology, in the sense of knowledge of divinity.
2. Intermediate Wisdom: This is called mathematical and instructional science and is divided into four categories: astronomy, geometry, music, and arithmetic.
3. Natural Science: This is related to material matters.

However, practical wisdom pertains to human nature in terms of its moral attributes. Moral qualities are of three types, and thus practical wisdom is also divided into three or, alternatively, four categories:

1. Ethics: Pertaining to the individual.
2. Household Management: Pertaining to the community within a household.
3. Political Wisdom: Pertaining to the larger community and is further divided into:
   • Political Science: Pertaining to kings and rulers.
   • Prophetic and Sharia Science: Pertaining to prophethood and religious law.

Summary of the Discussion

Based on what has been discussed, it can be said that the most important classification by the ancients of the sciences is the division of science into philosophical and non-philosophical, and the division of philosophical science into theoretical and practical, with an explanation of the various types of both theoretical and practical sciences. According to Shahid Mutahhari, the ancients, led by Ibn Sina, based their classifications of sciences on the subjects of the sciences. This is evident in the division of theoretical wisdom into its categories and in the division of practical wisdom into its categories. However, whether the primary division of philosophical sciences into theoretical and practical is also based on their subjects remains a matter of debate.

If we assert that this division is also based on subjects, it raises the issue that there is no special distinction between the voluntary actions of humans and other subjects, whether abstract or material, to justify such a differentiation. Human voluntary actions fall under the category of “to act” and do not significantly differ from other categories.

The truth is that the primary division of sciences into theoretical and practical is not based on the difference in subjects. The subject matter of practical wisdom does not differ so much from that of theoretical wisdom to justify such a division. This distinction is not evident in the words of the philosophers. What emerges from the words of the philosophers, especially Ibn Sina, is that while the basis for other classifications, such as the division of theoretical wisdom into its categories and the division of some of those categories into smaller ones, and the division of practical wisdom into its categories, is the subjects of the sciences, the basis for the initial division of rational sciences, that is, the division of wisdom into theoretical and practical, is not their subjects. Rather, the basis for this division is the goal and purpose of these sciences, and of course, the purpose here refers to what is inherently considered by the soul and what the soul’s inherent will is directed towards. The soul, in its essential state, has a will, and indeed, in its essential state, the soul is identical with will and attention. This attention and will differ from the attention and will that are among the soul’s accidents and are reflected in conscious awareness.

Of course, a final judgment on the criterion for dividing science into theoretical and practical requires a detailed discussion, which this writing does not have the scope to address.