BIOGRAPHY OF DR. S.H. NASR

Dr. Nasr was born in Tehran, Iran in a family of educators and scholars, his father having been one of the founders of the Persian educational system.  Consequently, he received the best classical Persian and Islamic education during his early years in Tehran.  He later came to the West to finish his secondary education at the Peddie School in New Jersey and after graduating as the valedictorian of his class, he went to MIT where he studied physics and mathematics and graduated with honors in 1954.  Meanwhile, his interest turned to an ever greater degree to philosophy and the history of science and he transferred to Harvard University to pursue graduate studies first in the field of geology and geophysics in order to acquaint himself with a descriptive as well as a mathematical science, and finally in the field of the history of science and philosophy in which he received his doctorate from Harvard University in 1958 with specialization in Islamic cosmology and science.  From 1958 until 1979, he was professor of the history of science and philosophy at Tehran University and for several years the dean of the Faculty of Letters and for sometime the vice chancellor of the University.  He also served for several years as president of Aryamehr University in Iran.  In 1962 and 1965 he was visiting professor at Harvard University and in 1964-65 the first Aga Khan

professor of Islamic studies at the American University of Beirut.  He was also the founder and first president of the Iranian Academy of Philosophy.

In 1979 Dr. Nasr migrated to the United States where he became first the distinguished professor of Islamic studies at the University of Utah, then from 1979 to 1984 professor of Islamic studies at Temple University.  Since 1984 he has been University Professor of Islamic studies at the George Washington University.

Dr. Nasr has lectured widely throughout the United States, Western Europe, most of the Islamic world, India, Australia and Japan.  He has also given several major lectures such as the Azad Memorial Lecture in India, the Iqbal Lecture in Pakistan, the Charles Strong Memorial Lecture in Australia, the Gifford Lectures at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and the Cadbury Lectures at Birmingham University in England.  He has also been for ten years member of the directing committee of FISP

(Federation Internationale des Societes Philosophiques) and a member of the Institut International de Philosophie.

Dr. Nasr is the author of over thirty books and over 300 articles.  His works concern not only various aspects of Islamic studies but also comparative philosophy and religion, philosophy of art and the philosophical and religious dimensions of the environmental crisis.

Titles of books in English by Dr. Nasr include:

The Essential Writings of Frithjof Schuon (ed.)

 The only anthology of the works of the author with an extensive prolegomena to his works and teachings.

Expectation of the Millenium 2 vols. (ed.)

A major anthology of Shi'ite thought.

The History of Islamic Philosophy, 2 vols. (ed. with Oliver Leaman)

Major new study of the whole of the Islamic philosophical

tradition from its beginning to today.

Introduction to Islamic Cosmological Doctrines

Only work on the subject, it was supposed to appear in French a few years ago but matters could not be worked out.

Islam and the Plight of Modern Man

Islamic Art and Spirituality

Besides works of T. Burckhardt, the only work in European languages, which explains the inner meaning of Islamic art.

The Islamic Intellectual Tradition in Persia

Islamic Life and Thought

Islamic Science: An Illustrated Study

Islamic Spirituality - Foundations - Volume I (ed.)

Islamic Spirituality - Manifestations - Volume II (ed.)

These two volumes together constitute the most extensive resource work on Islamic spirituality, particularly Sufism.

Isma'ili Contributions to Islamic Culture (ed.)

Contains essays by leading scholars such as H. Corbin, O. Grabar, A. Bausani and W. Madelung.

Muhammad - Man of Allah

A short treatment of the spiritual significance of the life of the Prophet of Islam and its major episodes.

The Need for a Sacred Science

A critique of the divorce between modern science and the sacred and argument for the re-creation of a sacred science.

Philosophy, Literature and Fine Arts in Islamic Education

A work dealing with Islamic education as it concerns philosophy, literature and the fine arts.

Religion and the Order of Nature

An unprecedented treatment of the meaning of the order of        nature in various religious traditions and the significance of this subject for the current environmental crisis.

Shi'ism - Doctrines, Thought, Spirituality (ed.)

A major anthology of Shi'ite thought complementing Expectation of the Millenium.

Three Muslim Sages

An introduction to the whole of the Islamic intellectual tradition as seen from within and on the basis of the teachings of these seminal figures:  Ibn Sina, Suhrawardi and Ibn `Arabi.

The Transcendent Theosophy of Sadr al-Din Shirazi

A treatment of the background works and thought of the major 17th century Islamic philosopher.   

A Young Muslim's Guide to the Modern World

A unique introduction to the Western world for young Muslims who first encounter that world, a work which has been also read widely by non-Muslim youth in America since its appearance.