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Grasping potential methods for exploring Islamic art and architecture is a continuous challenge. The problem is to what extent we should rely on strate­gies based on the world knowledge (science and in­tellect) or the Islamic worldview and doctrine (religion and revelation)? In the first part of the pre­sent article, mainly based on the documentary studies of the major foundations of contemporary epistemology and their theoretical approach, each of these methods and their significance and credi­bility are reviewed and appraised. In this way, using descriptive-analytical method, various possibilities of understanding in architecture spaces in general and Islamic architectural spaces in particular are exam­ined. The results of the survey show that the foun­dations of materialistic recognition and even the foundational principles of artistic ontology, although yielding significant gains from understanding, are not capable of comprehensively identifying an archi­tectural work, especially Islamic architecture. The method proposed here is the transcendental wis­dom of Islam. From the perspective of Islamic cul­ture, this method is due to: 1) belief in the ontology, anthropology and epistemology of the divine; 2) the freedom of the spiritual soul of man in realizing his innate talents; 3) belief in the constant type of in­nate human needs and their direction and purpose; 4) belief in the validity and relativeness of the actual human identity (issues such as art, religion, culture, style and way of creating the work) by affirming the four sources of Islamic jurisprudence and ijtihad (Quran), tradition, consensus, wisdom; 5) using in­teractional variety of perception tools (sensory ex­periences, rational reasoning and mystical intuition); 6) possibility of the appearance of different epis­temic approaches are adequate to provide certain epistemology to understand the concept of sacred art and subsequently Islamic architecture. In the se­cond part of the article, the relation between Islam and modernity are examined. It becomes clear that the sources of conflict between science and religion go back to restriction of the domain of religion to quotes and leaving the wisdom beyond the frame­work of religious knowledge. This article, based on verses and narratives, suggests the evidence of wis­dom and the relation between science and religion and believe that if wisdom is a religious proof and conferring religious verdict, then rational products in the broad sense, which includes all sciences in dif­ferent areas, will complement religious material and will not in contrary and distinct with religious ver­dicts. Finally, it is suggested that a proper under­standing of Islamic art and architecture would be subject to a fundamental change in the perspective of the practical wisdom of Islam and the production of knowledge based on Islamic notions. Practical Is­lamic wisdom regulations, that is the doctrine and rules of the Shari’a in the field of belief, morality and verdicts, as well as human communication with the components of existence in the ontology of tran­scendental Islamic philosophy (relation with God, self, society, nature and history), should be drafted based on the principles of the Islamic world. This may be used as a criterion for the study of Islamic art and architecture. Obviously, the architecture de­rived from such knowledge that intertwine both the wisdom and the Shari’a without prejudicing and dis­tracting through justice, will deserve to be appreci­ated as religious and Islamic architecture.

Keywords: Meaning perception, Foundations of epistemology, Social methodology of Quran.

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