ABSTRACT
Classical nautical Arabic literature, particularly the works of Aḥmad ibn Mājid and Sulaymān al-Mahrī from the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, serves as a crucial example of early modern technical literature. This Fachliteratur was taught discreetly to select initiates. Their writings encompass various terms related to their subject, such as ʿilm (knowledge), tajribah (experimentation), and ikhtirāʿ (invention), which highlight the practical and theoretical aspects of astronavigation. I compare these terms with contemporary early modern European sources, where discussions around scientia, experientia, and ars contributed to the evolution of modern science. This comparative analysis of non-European texts broadens the discourse, enriching it and challenging the Eurocentric perspective on the origins of modern scientific thought.
