Islamic Cosmology and Geography

What framework did the cosmological sciences take place within in classical Islamic civilization?

• Greek mythology

• Islamic cosmology

• Hindu cosmology

• Egyptian mythology

From where are the basic tenets of Islamic cosmology derived?

• The Bible

• The Torah

• The Quran

• The Vedas

What did the cosmic environment in which Islamic civilization flourished become to a large extent?

• Westernized

• Secularized

• Modernized

• Islamized

How are forms and symbols from the world of Nature chosen to depict the cosmos in Islamic cosmology?

• In an ad hoc manner

• In a random manner

• In a manner conforming with the Islamic world view

• In a manner conforming with Western traditions

What are the basic principles of all the cosmologies developed in Islam concerned with?

• The diversity and separation of being

• The unity and gradation of being

• The analysis of physical phenomena

• The rejection of metaphysical reality

Which state of being is identified with Pure Being (lāhūt)?

• The world of Divine Essence or "Ipseity" (hāhūt)

• The world of the Divine Names and Qualities, or Universal Intellect

• The world of psychic and "subtle" manifestation (malakūt)

• The terrestrial or physical domain (nāsūt)

What does the Quranic statement "God is the First and the Last, the Hidden and the Manifested" imply about the states of being?

• They are unrelated to each other

• They are conceptualized in two different but complementary ways

• They are only concerned with physical reality

• They are all visible and tangible

In the view that physical manifestation is the innermost circle of a set of five concentric circles, what does the outermost circle symbolize?

• The terrestrial or physical domain

• The world of psychic and "subtle" manifestation

• The world of Divine Essence

• The world of angelic substances

What does the journey through the cosmos from the earth to the primum mobile symbolize?

• The physical manifestation of the cosmos

• The gradual and successive realization of the various states of being

• The hidden nature of the Divine Essence

• The microcosmic view of the universe

In the reversed cosmological scheme, what is considered the innermost circle?

• The physical or gross manifestation

• The Divine Essence

• The macrocosmic view

• The microcosmic view