KNOWLEDGE Knowledge&

IN ISLAM
Civilization
In Islam
UNGS 2290

Department of Fundamental and Interdisciplinary Studies | 2021-2022

CONTENT
Ethic of Learning In Islam
What is Knowledge?
What is Science?
a. . Islamic Perspective
b. . Western Perspective
Knowledge & Values
Sources of Knowledge
c. . Revelation (Qur’an & Sunnah)
d. . Human Association (Society)
e. . Physical World (Nature)
Means of Knowledge
f. . Reason & Heart
g. . Senses
Some Aspects of Islamic Methodology
+ On Social Media
Classification of Knowledge
Islamization of Knowledge
Back to Original Islamic Learning
1- his origin,
2 Origin of Knowledge,
3. Tool to seek knowledge,
4. Negative attitude of human being
(transgressing) misuse of knowledge.
5. The fruit of ‘Ilm (submission)
DEFINITION ‘Ilm is a certain belief that is in accordance with the Reality.
It is the impression of images coming from external objects in the
mind of a person.
It has been also said that it is a perception of an object as it is.
It is a removal of confusion from the object and it is therefore,
antonym of ignorance.
It is indefinable.
It is a rooted and fixed attribute through which a person perceives the
general principles and particles.
It is an achievement of the soul to determine the meaning of a thing.
It is a particular correspondence between the intellect (al A`ql) and
the comprehensive (al Ma`qul).”

Ref. Source: Djurjani Ali Ben Mohammad Sharif (1340-1413), Kitab al Ta`rifat, Lebanon
library, Beirut 1990, p.160-161.
CONT.
① Knowledge is the process of knowing and identical with the knower and the known, or it
is an attribute enabling the knower to know.
② Knowledge is cognition (ma‘rifah).
③ Knowledge is a process of “obtaining” (d-r-k, h-s-l) or “finding” through mental
perception.
④ Knowledge is a process of clarification, assertion, and decision (bayyana, mayyaza,
athbata, qata‘a.
⑤ Knowledge is a form (sûrah), a concept or meaning (ma‘nâ), a process of mental
formation and imagination (tasawwur “perception”) and/ or mental verification (tasdîq
“apperception”).
⑥ Knowledge is belief.
⑦ Knowledge is remembrance, imagination, an image, a vision, an opinion.
⑧ Knowledge is a motion.
⑨ Knowledge is conceived as the negation of ignorance.
⑩ Knowledge is the result of an intuition coming from outside or as the result of
introspection.

Source: Franz Rosenthal, Knowledge Triumphant: The Concept of Knowledge in Medieval Islam
(LEIDEN • BOSTON 2007 ), p.52- 69
Source: Franz Rosenthal, Knowledge Triumphant: The Concept of Knowledge in Medieval Islam
(LEIDEN • BOSTON 2007 ), p.52- 69
 TREE: A CLOSE PICTURE to the meaning Knowledge

SCIENCE TREE
Fitrah, scientist, researcher SEED
Allah’s creation, Facts, truth. MINIRALS
Religion, worldview, culture, language,
environment, motives, purposes, ROOTS
material gains, personal experience

Maxims, universal laws, assumptions,

premises, rules, foundations… TRUNK

Specialties, fields of concentration,

BRANCHES

Scientific communities, institutions,

researchers, scholars, thinkers, LEAVES
theories, students, patrons…

Research groups FLOWER

Impact, outcome, benefits Products,
FRUITS
‘Ilm: Related Concepts in the Qur’an

Knowledge
&
VALUES
 Mental

spiritual Mental Intellectual behavioral

 STATUS OF KNOWLEDGEABLE PEOPLE

① Ulama (Fatir: 28, Shu ‘ara’: 197)

② Ulu al-Albab (Baqara: 269, Al-Imran: 7, Ra’d: 19, Ibrahim:
52, Sad: 29, Zumar: 9, 18)
③ Al-Alimun (al- Ankabut: 43)
④ Uli-N-nuha (Taha: 54, 128)
⑤ Dhi Hijr (al-fajr: 5)
⑥ Rasikhun fi al-’Ilm (Nisa’: 162)
⑦ Ulu al-Absar (al-Imran: 13, Nur: 44, al-Hashr: 2)
Al-Fitrah
Potentials
& Creativity
Heart and Reasoning

Tafakur

Heart Tafaquh

Ta 'aqul Tadabur
Muslim’s view on Human Senses and Perception

a. Allah’s bounty (ni‘mah)

b. Perfection (ahsan taqwim)
c. Dependence and cooperation
d. Efficiency in function.
e. Limitation (mahdudiyah)
f. Accountability (mas’uliyah)
A famous PERCEPTUAL ILLUSION in which the brain
switches between seeing an old lady or a young woman
This image is believed to have been adapted by W. E. Hill
and published in Puck magazine in 1915 (Hill, 1915),
although the image is believed to have originated from
an anonymous German postcard in 1888.
REVELATION AND HUMAN REASONING

1. Revelation is the Highest reference of knowing.

2. Intellect is used to understand Revelation.
3. Revelation guides human thinking.
4. Sound Reasoning never contradict Revelation.
5. The power of intellectual faculty is limited.
6. Intellect alone is misleading.
 QUR’AN
The Origin of ‘Ilmi (Scientific) Thinking
 COMPARE
ISLAMIC ARAB PRE-ISLAMIC

ISLAMIC Qur’an Diwan al-’Arab (Records of the Arabs)

and Arab Pre-

Reading Feeling
Evidence Poetry (atlal)
Islamic Sound thinking styles Imagination (kinayah, isti‘rah)

Thinking Reality and facts

acts
Virtual space, myths and stories
Thoughts separated from acts
Tawhid (Oneness of Allah) Tribe worldview
THE concept of ‘ilm in Qur’an
In the Qur'an the term ’Alim has occurred
in 140 places, while “’al- ‘ilm” in 27. In all,
the total number of verses in which 'ilm or
its derivatives and associated words are
used is 704. The search tools of knowledge
such as book, pen, ink etc also are
mentioned in big number. For example, al-
Qalam occurs in two places, al-kitab in 230
verses, among which al-kitab for al-Qur'an
occurs in 81 verses. Other words associated
with writing occur in 319 verses.
 Purification

WHAT IS
AMAZING
ABOUT
REVELATION!
QUR’AN| THINKING STYLES

INQUISITIVE OBJECTIVE POSITIVE HYPOTHETICAL

LOGICAL NATIVE CONTEMPLATIVE VISUAL
METAPHORIC
ANALOGICAL EMOTIONAL PERCEPTUAL
AL
INTUITIVE EMPERICAL WISHFUL THINKING COOPERATIVE
CRITICAL EFFECTIVE SOUND ILL
 a. Directs to the abilities and Skills.
b. Establishes order and style of thinking
c. Rewards &Praises those who think.
d. Asks Questions and encourage
questioning.
e. Provokes and challenges to think.
QUR’AN f. Provides Case-Show.
MOTIVATION
TO THINK g. Discourages erroneous forms of thinking.
h. Warns against neglecting thinking.
QUR’AN| THINKING VOCABULARY

Tafakar Tadhakar Ta’alam Ta’aqal

tafaqah tadabr Ta’araf muqarana
undhur I‘tabir istanbit Ta’wil
tabasur dhazn takdhib hisab
Ta’bir tasdiq bayan fahm
Shu ‘ur Itba ‘ nisyan Is’al
tayaqun tamthil idrak Ru’yah
taqdir Qir’ah ikhtibar dahz
Knowledge in qur’an and sunnah

 Allah The Creator.

 Origin, Essence & Characteristics of Human Being.
 Prophethood (Divine Exclusive &Universal Guidance).
 Human Society, history and civilization.
 Living Creatures.
 Physical world (‘Alam Shahadah).
 Unseen world (‘Alam al-Ghayb)
 Principle of Truth (al haq).
QUR’AN: THE CRITERION
(AL-FURQAN)

Haq (Right) Batil (wrong)

Khayr (Good) Shar (Bad)
Sidq (Truth) Kadhib (False)
Tayyib (pure) Khabith (unpure)
Halal (Lawful) Haram (unlawful)
Salah (sound) Fasad (corrupt)
Nafi‘ (beneficial) Dhar (harmful)
Salim (healthy) Marid (sick)
Sawab (righ) Khata’ (wrong)
Hidaya (guidance) Dalal (misguidance)
Knowledge in qur’an and sunnah

 Allah The Creator.

 Origin, Essence & Characteristics of Human Being.
 Prophethood (Divine Exclusive &Universal Guidance).
 Human Society, history and civilization.
 Living Creatures.
 Physical world (‘Alam Shahadah).
 Unseen world (‘Alam al-Ghayb)
 Principle of Truth (al haq).
What Revelation is Providing Human Thinking
The Practice of Islam and Natural
Science
• The Regulation of the Lunar Calendar
• The Regulation of the Five Daily Prayers
• The Determination of the Sacred Direction
(Qiblah).
• Other Applications of Science to Daily Life
(inheritance, Decoration of Masjid)
• Measurement and weighing devices.
QUOTATION
“in his preface [“Kitab al-Jabr wa'l-Muqabalah”] the author
(Al-Khawarizmi) writes that the caliph al-ma'mun
“encouraged me to compose a compendious work on algebra,
confining it to the fine and important parts of its calculation,
such as people constantly require in cases of inheritance,
legacies, partition, law-suits and trade, and in all their
dealings with one another, or where surveying, the digging of
canals, geometrical computation, and other objects of various
sorts and kinds are concerned.”
Source: john freely. “Aladdin's lamp.” p.95 (ibooks).
The Path of
Beneficial Knowledge
Maqasid Sahari‘ah knowledge framework

distribution
the

Natural
CLASSIFICATION OF KNOWLEDGE
 SOME EARLY MUSLIM WORKS
Scholar His work
Al-Khawarizmi, Muhammad Ibn Musa (d. 380AH/850) Mafatih al-’Ulum

al-Kindi, Abu Yūsuf Yaʻqūb ibn ʼIsḥāq (d. 260 AH/870) Mahiyat al-’ilm wa aqsamuhu

Al-Farabi, Abu Nasr Muhammad (d. 339 AH/ 950) Ihsa’ al-’Uluml

Al-Ghazali, Abu Hamid (d. 505 AH/1111) Ihya’ ‘Ulum ald-Din/al-munqidh min al-
Zalal

Ibn Khaldun, Abdu Rahman (d. 1406) Al-Muqaddimah

Tash-Kubra Zadah Ahmed (1158 AH) Miftah al-Sa ‘adah wa Misbah al-Siyadah
fi mawdu’at al- ‘ulum
SIGNIFICANCE OF CLASSIFICATION OF KNOWLEDGE
① Muslim scholars interested in cataloguing, systematizing
and dividing and subdividing all the known sciences
according to principles that would help to protect and
preserve the Islamic worldview and belief system 
② Muslim scholars wanted to uphold the unity of the sciences,
an important corollary of the principle of Tawhid, the core
teaching of Islam 
③ Muslim scholars wanted to put in place an educational
curriculum that would maintain a harmonious balance
between the permanent needs of man and society and their
changing needs 
④ Muslim scholars wanted to secure a good balance between
generalization and specialization in the human pursuit of
knowledge
Definition Relationship Hierarchy

Methods Subjects Status

Learning History Nature

Scope Levels Curriculum

THREE LEVELS OF certain KNOWLEDGE

• Haqul-Yaqin (Waqi ‘ah: 95, al-Haqah: 51)

1

• ‘Aynul-Yaqin (takathur: 7)
2

• ‘Ilmul-Yaqin (takathur: 5)
3
 ‘Ilm

Individual Collective

‘Ilm Blameworth Praiseworth

y y

Absolute Limited In its Impact

In Itself
Gifted Acquired

LEGAL AND SOCIAL ASPECT

Blameworth
Revelation Intuition Praiseworthy
y

THEORETICAL
ASPECT
Ref. Abu Hamid al Ghazali, Ihya’ ‘Ulum Din (Book I: Knowledge)
 Ulum al Way
Revealed Knowledge
NATURAL
SCIENCES
Ulum al Insan
Human Sciences HUMAN &
SOCIAL
SCIENCES
Ulum Tabi‘ah
Natural Sciences ARTS

Western Hierarchy of Knowledge

Hierarchy of Islamic Knowledge
NATURE OF HUMAN KNOWLEDGE

① Necessity of Revelation & Prophethood for human being.

② Knowledge is possible by the will of Allah.
③ Seeking knowledge is an act of worship.
④ Knowledge is a virtue & status of honor before Allah.
⑤ Limitation of Human capacity to reach absolute knowledge.
⑥ Human “Reason” reflects cognitive process rather then independent authority.
⑦ Knowledge is cumulative.
⑧ Multiple valid ways to gain knowledge.
⑨ True & authentic knowledge must lead to piety Allah (Taqwa)
⑩ Knowing is a complex process involves all the faculties and senses.
⑪ Knowledge is of multiple levels (‘aynu al-Yaqin, ‘ilm al-Yaqin, haqq al-
Yaqin).
CHARACTERISTICS OF SCIENCE (‘ILM)

1. It is based of absolute frame of reference.

2. Within such a reference, ‘Ilm precept is active not passive.
3. It views objectivity as a public and not a private matter.
4. It is multi-method discipline.
5. It is integrate knowledge with Islamic values and worldview.
6. It views knowledge a inclusive rather than exclusive, that is to say it considers human experience
as valid as other sorts of knowledge.
7. It seeks to systematize subjective experience.
8. It incorporates concepts of levels of consciousness, or levels of subjective experience.
9. It is based on a unified and a holistic view of Man.

Ref.: Ziauddin Sardar, The future of Islamic civilization, Pp. 26-27.

SOURCES OF KNOWLEDGE

REVELATION [QUR’AN & SUNNAH]

HUMAN SOCIETY [INDIVIDUALS &

COMMUNITY]

NATURE [SIGNS & LAWS]

 SOURCES OF KNOWLEDGE
SOURCES OF
KNOWLEDGE
(‘ILM)

‫الوحي‬ ‫العمران البشري‬

REVELATION ‫الكون‬
(HUMAN
(QUR’AN & ASSOCIATION) (NATURE)
SUNNAH)

Allah’s Will
Divine Guidance • Allah’s Will
Perfect Design
Absolute in Time-Space. • Ordered & Organization
Laws (Cause-effect)
Complete • Purposive
Malleability
• Community-Base
Infallible Certain
• Sunnan
Perfect Measurement
• Variant
Balance
Certain • Trial
Ajal (destination)
Comprehensive • Diversity
Complex
Evident • Complex
Discoverable
Unchangeable • Change
Understandable
• Understandable
Prevalent
 ESSENCE OF NATURE
Purposiveness
Allah’s Will in Measurement (al-Haq)) Balance, Harmony
creation (Miqdar/Qadar) & consistency

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Divine Design & Orderliness Malleability Temporality

Perfection qualitatively & (taskhir) (ajalinMusamma´)
quantitatively
IBN KHALDUN’S
METHODOLOGY
Ibn- Khaldun believed that scientific research requires
1. Sound Understanding of Revelation
2. Sound and Natural human Thinking
3. Accurate observations;
4. Reliable & Accurate information & data
5. Verification and critique
6. Proper careful methods of recording
7. Precise, Clear and truthful transmission and reporting.
 PILLARS OF SCIENCE: SHORT
COMPARISON
1. Revelation 1- Realism
2. belief 2- Presupposition
ISLAM

WEST
3. Creation 3- Evidence
4. Evidence/ Truth 4- Logics

5. Multiple methods 5- Limits

6. Integration and Unity 6- Universality

7. Universality 7- Worldview
Source: Hugh G. Gauch Jr. “Science, Worldviews, and Education”
8. Shari‘ah Objectives (Values) Originally published in the journal Science & Education, Volume
18, Nos 6–7, 667–695. DOI: 10.1007/s11191-006-9059-1
Principles in Exploring the Physical World

• Allah’s Will is the source of everything. Law, order, regulation, cause-

effect stand on the Will of Allah not on natural or human phenomena
• Man is Khalifah (Vicegerent of Allah).
• Allah creation is one of the sources of knowledge.
• Facts are called signs “Ayah” attributed to Allah: The Creator.
• Taskhir is a universal regulation which makes things around humans
suitable for their needs.
• Objectives of knowledge are bound by Shari’a principals which protect
major categories of human personality, that is, Soul/religion,
consciousness, wealth, off-springs (family), dignity, environment…etc.
• ‘ILM is WORSHIP and a VIRTUE and Allah’s property.
 Quotation
• The nature of the cosmos is teleological, that is, purposive, serving of
its Creator, and doing so out of design. The world has not been
created in vain, or in sport.' It is NOT he work of chance, a
happenstance. It was created in perfect condition. Everything that
exists does so in a measure proper to it and fulfills a certain universal
purposes The world is indeed a "cosmos," an orderly creation, NOT a
chaos.

• Source: Ismail Raji al Faruqi&loisLamya al Faruqi: The Cultural Atlas of Islam, Macmillan
Publishing Company (London 1986), p. 74.
REFECTION & CRITIC
“The origin of modern science, or the scientific revolution, goes back to
Islamic civilization. As a matter of fact, Muslims were the pioneers of
modern science. If they did not fight among themselves, if Christian armies
did not drive them out of Spain, and if the Mongols did not attack and destroy
parts of Islamic countries in the thirteenth century, they would have been able
to create a Descartes, a Gassendi, a Hume, a Copernicus, and a Tycho Brahe,
since we already find the seeds of the mechanical philosophy, empiricism, the
main elements of heliocentrism, and the instruments of Tycho Brahe, in the
works of al-Ghazali, of Ibn al-Shatir, of the astronomers of the Maragha
observatory, and of Takiyuddin”
Source: CemilAkdoğan, Science in Islam & the West (ISTAC, 2008) p. 35
 NORMS OF WESTERN SCIENCE NORMS OF ISLAMIC SCIENCE

1. Faith in rationality Faith in revelation.

2. Science for science’s sake. Science is a means for seeking the pleasure of Allah; it is a form of
worship, which has a spiritual and a social function

3. One all-powerful method the only way of knowing reality. Many methods based on reason as well as revelation, objective and
subjective, all equally valid.
4. Emotional neutrality as the key condition for achieving rationality. Emotional commitment is essential for a spiritual and socially
uplifting scientific enterprise.
5. Impartiality – a scientist must concern himself only with the Partiality towards the truth: that is, as if science is a form of worship
production of new knowledge and with the consequences of its use. a scientist has to concern himself as much with the consequences of
his discoveries as with their production; worship is a moral act and
its consequences must be morally good; to do any less is to make a
scientist into an immoral agent.

6. Absence of bias – the validity Presence of subjectivity: the direction of science

of scientific statements depends only on the operations by which is shaped by subjective criteria: the validity of a scientific statement
evidence for it was obtained, and not upon the person who makes it. depends both on the operation by which evidence for it was
obtained and on the intent and the worldview of the person who
obtained it; the acknowledgement of subjective choices in the
emphasis and direction of science forces the scientist to appreciate
his limitations.

Source: Ziauddin Sardar , Arguments for an Islamic Science, in in Ehsan Masood (editor) how do we know: Reading Ziauddin Sardar on Islam, Science and Cultural Relations (London Pluto Press,
2006), p. 147-148
 NORMS OF WESTERN SCIENCE NORMS OF ISLAMIC SCIENCE

7. Suspension of judgement Exercise of judgment – scientific statements are always made in the
– scientific statements are made only on the basis of conclusive face of inconclusive evidence; to be a scientist is to make expert, as well
statements. as moral judgment, on the face of inconclusive evidence; by the time
conclusive evidence has been gathered it may be too late to do
anything about the destructive consequences of one’s activities.

8. Reductionism – the dominant way of achieving scientific progress. Synthesis – the dominant way of achieving scientific progress,
including the synthesis of science and values.

9. Fragmentation – science is too complex an activity and therefore has Holistic – science is too complex an activity to be divorced and isolated
to be divided into disciplines, sub-disciplines and sub sub- disciplines. into smaller and smaller segments; it is a multi-disciplinary,
interdisciplinary and holistic enterprise.

10. Universalism – although science is universal, its primary fruits are Universalism – the fruits of science are for the whole of humanity, and
for those who can afford to pay, hence secrecy is justified. knowledge and wisdom cannot be bartered or sold; secrecy is immoral.

11. Individualism – which ensures that the scientist keeps his distance Community orientation; the pursuit of science is a social obligation
from social, political and ideological concerns. (fard kifaya); both the scientist and the community have rights and
obligations on each other, which ensure interdependence of both.

Source: Ziauddin Sardar , Arguments for an Islamic Science, in in Ehsan Masood (editor) how do we know: Reading Ziauddin Sardar on Islam, Science and Cultural Relations (London Pluto Press,
2006), p. 147-148
 NORMS OF WESTERN SCIENCE NORMS OF ISLAMIC SCIENCE

12. Neutrality – science is neither good nor bad. Value orientation – science, like all human activity is value-laden; it
can be good or evil, ‘blameworthy’, or ‘praiseworthy’, science of
germ warfare is not neutral, it is evil.

13. Group loyalty – production of new knowledge by research is the Loyalty to God and his creations – the production of new knowledge
most important of all activities and is to be supported as such. is a way of understanding the ‘signs’ of God and should lead to
improving the lot of His creation – man, wildlife and legitimacy for
this endeavour and therefore it must be supported as a general
activity and not as an elitist enterprise.

14. Absolute freedom – all restraint or control of scientific Management of science: science is an invaluable resource and
investigation is to be resisted. cannot be allowed to be wasted and go towards an evil direction; it
must be carefully managed and planned for, and it should be
subjected to ethical and moral constraints.

15. Ends justify the means – because scientific investigations are Ends do not justify the means – there is no distinction between the
inherently virtuous and important for the well-being of mankind, any ends and means of science, both must be halal (permitted), that is,
and all means – including the use of live animals, human beings and within the boundaries of ethics and morality.
foetuses – are justified in the quest for knowledge.

Source: Ziauddin Sardar , Arguments for an Islamic Science, in in Ehsan Masood (editor) how do we know: Reading Ziauddin Sardar on Islam, Science and Cultural Relations (London Pluto Press,
2006), p. 147-148
Islamization
Of human Knowledge
 Secularization

Atheism Colonization

Factors behind
”knowledge Pollution”
Materialis
Westernization
m

Euro-
Centrism
The challenge of Modern

Secular Sciences
 WESTERN VIEW OF
KNOWLEDGE
Philosophers Their Assumptions

Thales • Scientific enquiry eliminates reliance on God

Heraclitus •
•
Man is subjective and cannot objectively know the truth
Vision of the world dominated by religion and politics.
Plato • Individuals should be subjugated to the City.
• Scientific enquiry is the main preoccupation of the philosopher
Aristotle Seek individual pleasure by interacting with the outside world
Epicurus • Moderation is the key.
• No afterlife.
Zeno • Seek individual pleasure by controlling your inner thoughts.
 RAISING ISSUES

1 belief Metaphysics
2 Theory Question of truth
3 Methodology Question of comprehensiveness

4 Achievement Products
5 Implementation and usage environment
Policy Organizations
Ethics Values
Hidden Objectives Ideologies
Relations to the future of Human life Shaping the life
Fundamentals of Tawhidic Sciences: ‘Im

TAWHID TRAME OF KNOWLEDGE

Subject & Law Ayah/ Sunnatullah/ Khalq
Method Multiple valid methods
Description Science is (fadilah) virtue & Qurba (closeness) to Allah
Scope (field) Seen and unseen world
Research Questions How/ why questions
Specialization Integration and Comprehensiveness
Objective Legal World-Life welbeing and Akhira reward
Values Value-added
Framework Shari‘ah Objectives Framework
Growth Linear Development & Growth
QUOTATION
“Modern science is successful in telling you the weight and
chemical structure of a red pine leaf, but it is totally irrelevant
to what is the meaning of the turning of this leaf to red. The
``how’’ has been explained in modern science, the ``why’’ is
not its concern. If you are a physics student and you ask the
question, `what is the force of gravitation?’, the teacher will
tell you the formula, but as to what is the nature of this force,
he will tell you it is not a subject for physics. So [science] is
very successful in certain fields, but leaves other aspects of
reality aside”. (LECTURE: Hussein Nasr)
Fundamentals of Western Sciences
Secular Sciences
Subject & Law Nature/ Law/ Existence
Method Experimental/ Rationalism
Description Wealth/power/
Scope Physical and human world
Research Question How

Tools Senses/Reasoning

Type Limited
Objective material interest
Values Free-value
Micro-Framework Government & Institution policy/Science discoveries
Validity Relativism and Skepticism
Development Revolution mean of development
QUOTATIO
N
“Ethics and science have their own domains,
which touch but do not interpenetrate. The one
shows us to what goal we should aspire, the
other, given the goal, teaches us how to attain
it. So they never conflict since they never meet.
There can be no more immoral science than
there can be scientific morals”.
Source: (Poincaré H., 1920/1958, he Value of Science, New York: Dover, P. 12)
Islamization of Knowledge
VIEW OF SAYED NAQIB AL-ATAS

“The liberation of man first from magical, mythological, animistic, national-cultural

tradition, and then from secular control over his reason and his language” (al-Atas).
“The deliverance of knowledge from its Interpretations based on secular ideology; and
from meanings and expressions of the secular”
“… after the isolation process referred to, the knowledge free of the [western]elements
and key concepts isolated are then infused with the Islamic elements and key concepts
which, in view of their fundamental nature as defining the fi!rah, in fact imbue the
knowledge with the quality of its natural function and purpose and thus makes it true
knowledge”.
Ref. Islam and secularism, The Concept of Education in Islam , Prolegomena to the Metaphysics of Islam
Islamization of Knowledge
VIEW OF ISMAIL RAJI AL-FARUQI

“… To redefine, and reorder the data, to rethink the reasoning and

relating of the data, to reevaluate the conclusions, to reproject the
goals and to do so in such a way as to make the disciplines enrich the
vision and serve the cause of Islam
“… As disciplines, the humanities, the social sciences and natural
sciences must be reconceived and rebuilt, given a new Islamic base
and assigned new purposes consistent with Islam. Every discipline
must be recast so as to embody the principles of Islam in its
methodology, in its strategy, in what it regard as its data, its
problems, its objectives, [and] its aspiration”

Ref. “Islamization of Knowledge: introduction”

 Comparative

Harmonization or Synthesis
7 Integration
MAJOR
APPROACHE Critique: Appreciation, Correction &
S OF IOHK Deletion
Reconstruction
KAMAL HASSAN

Deconstruction

New Construction or New Inventions

Islamization of Knowledge: Application
VIEW OF KAMAL HASSAN

Type of Contribution Basic Intermediate High

Islamic worldview Add to current Critic of the current Produce a new
Concepts knowledge knowledge from an knowledge
methods
Theories (introduce al- Islamic perspective
Disciplines ma‘rufat) (remove al-munkarat)
applications
CONCLUSION
‘Ilm in Islam is wider and richer in meaning in any
other knowing systems know to humans. Therefore,
The term ‘Ilm cannot be as equivalent of English term
“science” which is shaped and restricted by Western
worldview and style of thinking.
‘Im implies that values are always attached to
knowledge.
Ilm is constructed on hierarchical order whereby
Revelation occupies the highest position.
In Islam, ‘Ilm is a mean of closeness to Allah rather
than an imperial “material power” as promoted today.
REQUIRED READING

Syed Muhammad Naqib al-Atas, Islam and secularism (ISTAC, 1993)

Muzaffar Iqbal, The Making of Islamic Sciences (Islamic Books Trust, KL, 2009)
 On An Islamic Assessment of
The Knowledge of Social Media
 Islamic learning
Question for Refection?
1. Am I learning a beneficial knowledge?
2. Am I following Islamic ethics of learning?
3. Am I using utmost of my effort to excel in my domain?
4. Am I thinking how to serve Islam and Muslims by using the knowledge I learned?
5. What my future plan to answer all the previous questions?
THE SUNNAH OF
THE PROPHET
MUHAMMAD (S)
SUNNAH: DEFINITION &
TYPES
Literally, Sunnah mean “a clear and well
trodden path”.
Sunnah according to scholar of hadith is
"Anything narrated from or about the Prophet
either before or after he became a prophet, of
his statements, actions, confirmations,
biography, and his physical character and
attributes.
Sunnah in Qur’an
The term “sunna” occurs fourteen times in nine Qur’anic verses.
It is used in four verses in the expression “sunnat al-awwalin” or
the “sunna of the ancients.” The term “sunna” is usually
interpreted as meaning “example” or “fate,” but it is a more
general concept that means “way,” “practice,” “course,”
“tradition,” “habit,” “state,” or “situation.” So “sunnat al-
awwalin” should mean “the way or practice of the ancients.”
In the nine verses in which the term “sunna” appears, it is used
nine times to refer to the sunna of Allah, four times for the sunna
of the people of old, and once for the sunna of the previous
messengers of Allah.
The Legislative Function of Sunnah
with respect to Qur’an

1. Specification of general rule:-

2. Elaboration of Ahkams:-
3. Analogy on the basis of rule in Quran
4. Linkage of case with well known principle:-
5. General Principal laid down by Sunnah:-
6. Explanation of the implicit:-
ADAB & GUIDING PRINCIPLE IN SEEKING
KNOWLEDGE

① Seeking satisfaction (RIDHA) of Allah.

② Seek the knowledge of Open book (Allah’s creation) for the
purpose of consideration is a worship.
③ Spread the good (MA‘RUF)& make reform when needed.
④ Avoid causing corruption & spreading mischief (MUNKAR and
FASAD).
⑤ Avoid acting upon gaining luxuries (TARAF)
⑥ Avoid transgression (ISRAF)
⑦ Do not cause injustice (ZULM)
⑧ Do not waste (TABDIR)
⑨ Share your knowledge and its benefits.
HADITH