Some Islamic Thinkers’ View about the Architect’s Approach towards Nature and the Natural World

Concepts such as nature and the natural world have always been a source of thought and theorisation for thinkers throughout history. Like other thinkers, Islamic thinkers have provided their definitions about these two categories. An exploration of these definitions in the context of architecture can be a way to understand the approach of contemporary architects to these two categories. For this purpose, the present research starts with examining the concept of nature and the world of nature from the point of view of some Islamic thinkers in a descriptive-analytical way, and then by inference and logical reasoning with regard to the role humans and consequently the architect in the world of existence. According to some thinkers, the nature of the inspiring and sensual powers is intelligent and regulated.Considering the concept of the architect as the caliphate and the servant of man attributed to him/her, s/he can achieve the position of caliphate over the natural world only in the context of empathy, obedience, compliance and submission to the acts of the power of nature and the laws of the natural world. In fact, this attribute of caliphate is obtained through servitude.In what follows, in order to explain the resulting approach in the process of building, the act of architect is examined according to the concepts of nature and the natural world. To conclude, it appears that architects should revise and reread their theoretical foundations regarding their relationship with nature and the natural world, in the context of countless advances in the field of architecture.