Said Nursi, the reviver of faith and wonder of the age, wrote with impeccable power, the place that human beings hold in the broader framework of the cosmos. We are creatures of God, and we are endowed with the ability to reason and interpret the world around us. We have the potential to embody the divine names and attributes at the human level, and we are the microcosm of the universe that is the macrocosm.
Here, we will outline the strength of Islam’s understanding of the valid sources of knowledge, an epistemology that is robust and encompassing. At one extreme, scientism holds that science and the scientific method are the best or only way to render truth about the world, which is to limit knowledge only to what is empirically testable. At the opposite extreme, fideism holds that faith must be held without the use of reason or even against reason, which is to in a sense, criminalize reason.
Islam has a rich dialectic tradition of one and a half millennia that has carried great thinkers and philosophers. Their argumentation for Islam has been varied and engaging. I categorized the epistemology of Islam under three broad categories with further divisions that follow. This will serve as a workable reference for further research, integrating the traditions:
1.) Reason (Aql)
a. Deduction (Istidlal)
i. Deductive Analogy (Qiyas)
b. Induction (Istiqra)
c. Abduction (Ijtihad)
d. Logic (Mantiq)
e. Innate Disposition (Fitrah)
I. Empiricism (Tajriba)
a. Perception (Hawass Khamsa)
b. Observation (Nadhr)
c. Hypothesis (Fardiyyah)
2.) Revelation (Naql)
a. Revelation (Wahi)
b. Authority (Ulama/Caliphate)
c. Consensus (Ijma)
d. Faith/Certainty (Iman/Yaqin)
I. Transmission (Khabar)
a. Memory (Dhikr/Hifdh)
b. Testimony (Shahada/Riwaya/Isnad)
c. Tradition (Sunnah/Turath)
d. Reports (Hadith)
e. Custom (Urf)
f. Anecdotes (Qissa/Siyar)
3.) Spirituality (Marifah)
a. Inspiration (Ilham)
b. Spiritual Unveiling (Kashf)
c. Intuition/Sixth Sense (Hads)
d. Introspection (Muraqabah)
e. Contemplation (Tafakkur)
f. Reflective Pondering (Tadabbur)
g. Divine Knowledge (Ilm Ladunni)
h. Subconscious Processes/Subtle Energies (Lata’if)
i. Witnessing (Shahada)
j. Spiritual Witnessing (Mushahada)
k. Divine Opening (Fath)
l. Dreams
i. True Dreams (Ru’ya Saliha)
ii. Glad Tidings (Mubashirat)
A number of major Western philosophers of epistemology include Francis Bacon, Descartes, Locke, Hume, Kant, Schopenhauer, Russell, Feyerbend and Plantinga.
The Islamic tradition in epistemology includes Avicenna, Ghazali, Ibn Rushd, Ibn Tufayl, Ibn Nafis, Suhrawardi, Ibn Taymiyyah, Hamiduddin Farahi.
On related Islamic subjects includes Juwayni (d. 1085) in Usul Fiqh and Khatib Baghdadi (d. 1071) in Usul Hadith.
This topic is essential for any researcher on Islam in the modern world. The social sciences and philosophy must be learned to realize the luminous relevance of Islam for all ages.
References
The Words - Risalei Nur
