The Meaning, the Basis and the Background of Classification of Sciences in Islamic Civilization and an Idea for Achieving a New Classification in Political Sciences

The present article aims at answering a major question and three subsidiary ones. The major question is: “How can one achieve a new and initial classification in political sciences according to Islamic humanities based on civilization assets in classification of sciences?” The subsidiary questions are: (a) “What is classification of sciences and what are its uses and consequences?”, (b) “What is the relationship between development of Islamic civilization in some periods of history and classification of sciences, and how will this relationship be established in modern Islamic civilization?” and (c) “What is the difference between classification of sciences among Islamic thinkers and new western thinkers?” Accordingly, the present article – while explaining the concept, importance, features and uses of classification of sciences and its role and status in the development of Islamic civilization – deals with the meaning of modern Islamic civilization and its relationship with old-line Islamic civilization. It, then, briefly reviews the common criteria in classification of sciences, and catches a glimpse of the most prominent classification of Muslim scholars in previous centuries, including Farabi, Avicenna, Mulla Sadra, as well as western scholars such as Kant and Bacon, attempting to explain the bases of classification in Islamic and western civilizations. It also delineates the major relationship of Islamic humanities with classification of sciences, explaining the status of politics in classification of sciences. In that section, we first present definitions and functions of political philosophy, philosophy of political sciences and political knowledge as well as a brief explanation of various approaches to them, explaining the domain of political science and its role in classification of political sciences. At the end, the article presents a quasi-classification of political sciences from the viewpoint of Islamic humanities, attempting to preserve the merits of traditional and modern classification of political sciences.