The Worldview of Islam: An Introduction

1. Defining the Islamic Worldview
From the perspective of Islam, a 'worldview' is not merely the mind's view of the physical world and of man's historical, social, political, and cultural involvement in it. The worldview of Islam is not based upon philosophical speculation formulated mainly from observation of the data sensible experience, of what is visible to the eye; nor it is restricted to the world of sensible experience, the world of created things. Islam does not concede to the dichotomy of the sacred and the profane; the worldview of Islam encompasses both al-dunya and al-akhirah, in which the dunya-aspect must be related in profound and inseparable way to the akhirah-aspect, in which the akhirah-aspect has the ultimate and final significance. The dunya-aspect is seen as preparation for the akhirah-aspect without thereby implying any attitude of neglect or being unmindful of the dunya-aspect. What is meant by 'worldview' according to the perspective of Islam, is then the vision of reality and truth that appears before the mind's eye revealing what existence is all about; for it is the world of experience in its totality that Islam is projecting.
(Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, Prolegomena to the Metaphysics of Islam [Kuala Lumpur: ISTAC, 1995],1)

2. The Character of Islamic Worldview
The Islamic vision of reality and truth, which is metaphysical survey of the visible as well as the invisible worlds, including the perspective if life as a whole, is not a worldview that is formed merely by gathering together of various cultural objects, values, and phenomena into artificial coherence. Nor is it one that is formed gradually through a historical and development process a philosophical speculation and scientific discovery, which must of necessity be left vague and open-ended for future change and alteration in line with paradigms that change in correspondence with changing circumstances. It is not a worldview that undergoes a dialectical process of transformation repeated through the ages, from thesis to antitheses then synthesis, with elements of each of these stages in the process being assimilated into the other, such as a worldview based upon a system of thought that was originally god-centered, and is now world-centered and perhaps shifting again to form a new thesis in the dialectical process. Such a worldview changes in line with ideological ages and characterized by a predominance of the influence of particular and opposing systems of thought advocating different interpretations of worldview and value systems like that which have occurred and will continue to occur in the history of cultural, religious and intellectual tradition of the West. There have not been in the history of the cultural, religious, and intellectual tradition of Islam distinct ages characterized by a preponderance of a system of thought based upon materialism or idealism, supported by attendant methodological approaches and positions such as empiricism, rationalism, realism, nominalism, pragmatism,positivismm, logical positivism, and criticism, oscillating between centuries and emerging one after another right down to our time. The representatives of Islamic thought-theologians, philosophers, metaphysicians- have all and individually applied various methods in their investigations without preponderating on any one particular method. They combined in their investigations, and at the same time in their persons, the empirical and the rational, the deductive and the inductive methods and affirmed no dichotomy between the subjective and the objective, so that they all affected what I would call the tawhid method of knowledge. Nor have there been in Islam historical periods that can be characterized as 'classical,' then 'medieval,' then 'modern'; and now purportedly shifting again to 'post-modern'; nor critical events between the medieval and the modern experienced as a 'renaissance' and an 'enlightenment.' Proponents of shifts in systems of thought involving changes in the fundamental elements of the worldview and value system may say that all forms of cultures must experience such shifts; otherwise in the process of interaction with changing circumstances they exhaust themselves and become uncreative and petrified. But this is true only in the experience and consciousness of civilizations whose system of thought and value have been derived from cultural and philosophical elements aided by the science of their times. Islam is not a form of culture, and its system of value derived from it are not merely derived from cultural and philosophical elements aided by science, but one whose original source is Revelation, confirmed by religion, and affirmed by intellectual and intuitive principles. Islam ascribes to itself the truth of being a truly revealed religion, perfected from the very beginning, requiring no historical explanation and evaluation in terms of the place it occupied and the role it played within a process of development. All the essentials of the religion: the name, the faith and practice, the rituals, and the creed and system of belief were given by Revelation an interpreted and demonstrated by the Prophet in his words and model actions, not from cultural tradition which necessarily must flow in the stream of historicism. The religion of Islam was conscious of its own identity from the time of revelation. When it appeared on the stage of world history Islam was already 'mature,' needing no process of 'growing up' to maturity. Revealed religion can only be that which knows itself from the very beginning; and that self-knowledge comes from the Revelation itself, not from history. The so-called 'development' in the religious traditions of mankind cannot be applied to Islam, for what is assumed to be a developmental process is, in the case of Islam, only a process of interpretation and elaboration, which must, of necessity, occur in alternating generations of believers of different nations, and which refer back to the unchanging Source.
(Prolegomena, 2-4)

3. The Fundamental Elements of the Islamic Worldview
The worldview of Islam is characterized by an authenticity and finality that points to what is ultimate, and it projects a view of reality and truth that encompasses existence and life altogether in total perspective whose fundamental elements are permanently established. These are, to mention the most salient ones, the nature of God; of Revelation (i.e. the Qur'an); of His creation; of man and the psychology of the human soul: of knowledge; of religion; of freedom; of values and virtues; of happiness- all of which, together with the key terms and concepts that they unfold, have profound bearing upon our ideas about change, development, and progress. These fundamental elements act as integrating principles that place all our system of meaning and standards of life and values in coherent order as a unified system forming the worldview and the supreme principle of true reality that is articulated by these fundamental elements is focused on knowledge of the nature of God as revealed in the Qur'an.
(Prolegomena, 4-5)

a. The Nature of God
b. The Nature of Revelation- The Qur'an
c. The Nature of Revealed Religion- Islam
d. The Nature of the World (dunya)
e. The Nature of Man (insan)
f. The Nature of Knowledge ('ilm)
g. The Nature of Adab
h. The Nature of Happiness (sa'adah)
i. The True Meaning of Change, Development, and Progress
j. Concluding Remarks



1) A worldview is what the mind sees if it has eyes.
Imagine having ‘eyes’ on the mind. What would it see?

If the mind has eyes then it would see what it considers to be true and what it considers to be real. Or in other words, what really exists out there.

Let’s try this out. Take a look at a tree outside your window. What do you think your mind would see?

If you are just saying: “This is a tree. It has roots, a trunk, and branches that extends out into the sky”, then there is something wrong with your mind. It is because if you are a Muslim, your mind should not be seeing a tree as just a tree in its physical form. A tree does not exist on its own-; its existence owes to Allah. A tree is therefore not just a tree in its physical form; a tree is a sign of Allah’s Existence and Omnipotence!

Then you may ask yourself: Why did you see the tree as only a tree? That’s because you have restricted your mind’s vision to the world of sensible experience. This would mean that something exists only if it can be seen, heard and experienced by your other senses; it also means that something is true and real only if it is in conformity with what you have perceived with your senses. But this is not the way your mind’s eye should see if you are a Muslim who has understood Islam in its totality.

The Muslim mind has its own unique way of looking at things. As such, it has its own vision of what is true, and what is real, and what really exists out there.

2) Seeing from a Western mind
Because of our interactions with the dominant Western world and our Western-influenced education, we begin to confuse ourselves by seeing in our minds what the Western man see in their minds. In the words of Prof Al-Attas himself:
“It is most significant to us that these problems are caused due to the introduction of Western ways of thinking and judging and believing emulated by some Muslim scholars and intellectuals who have been unduly influenced by the West and overawed by its scientific and technological achievements.” (Islam and Secularism, pg 13)
If we examine Western civilization history, which went through different eras, notably the rejection of the Christian religion, we would be able to understand better what the Western man see in their minds and their set of criteria underlining their perception of what is true, what is real, and what exists out there. And it is also important to point out that Islam has different experiences from that experienced by the Western man.
Hence, our task now is to examine how a Muslim should think, judge and believe and at the same time isolating those non-Islamic elements which has tampered the vision of our minds, mainly, the secular Western worldview.

3) The worldview of Islam encompasses of both this world and the Hereafter
Opposed to the secular man’s vision of the world which sees only the physical sensible world as one that is true and real and that the Hereafter are fantasies or dreams of primitive man because it cannot be proven by the five senses, a Muslim should see that both this world and the Hereafter are both true and real. In fact, the Muslim mind should see this physical world as a temporary place of rest in preparation for the everlasting Hereafter. This, however, does not imply that this world should be neglected or shunned, or that we should just stop working and concentrate on performing worship; it only means we should not be too attached to this physical world and be aware that our final destination lies in the Hereafter.

4) The worldview of Islam rejects dualism
Opposed to the secular man’s way of seeing and knowing things, which has the habit of classifying things as opposites that are in conflict with one another (dualism), and then subsequently compromising, by adopting elements from both sides, the worldview of Islam is not formed out of this dialectical process. In fact, Muslims in the past, despite their classification of things, did not treat them as opposites of one another. They have been able to successfully combine the different methods of achieving knowledge of things.
In contrast, in the West there was once a time when the Western world believed that something is true and real only if it corresponds to facts that can be sensed by our sensory perceptions (empiricism). At the same time, there were those who believed that something is true and real only if it can be logically and rationally demonstrated by the mind (rationalism). There were conflicts between the two, each believing in their own criteria of truth and reality. Eventually they decided to harmonise their thoughts into an artificial coherence having elements of both sides as demonstrated in modern and post-modern thought (logical positivism). As such, the secular worldview is a product of the historical and developmental processes experienced by the West.

This also means that the criteria of what is true and what is real will always continue to change and evolve according to what suits them best at that point of time. This search for a final identity will continue until the end of time.

5) The worldview of Islam transcends time
Opposed to the evolutionary processes in Western thought, Islam is already perfect, matured and modern at the time of its revelation, always relevant for all ages. It did not go through historical periods, for instance, from the Dark Age to the Renaissance and then to the Modern era like the West did. This is because the worldview of Islam does not borrow its elements from culture, philosophy and science; its elements are based on Revelation which is final in nature. Because Islam already knows of its identity from the very beginning, this means that there is no need for Islam to develop and change as how the West is. In fact, change and development in Islam is only a process of understanding the message of the Qur’an and the Sunnah better.

Cancellation of "Understanding Pseudo-Salafism: A Critical Perspective" by Dr Khalif Muammar

Assalamu'alaikum WR. WB.

Dearest readers,

It is with sadness and regret to inform you that the discussion "Understanding Pseudo-Salafism: A Critical Perspective" by Dr Khalif Muammar on 20th Feb 2010 has been cancelled due licensing problems similar to that experienced by the Madrasah Wak Tanjong Seminar,

We at the Suffah Study Circle would like to apologize for the inconvenience caused and we hope that you would continue to give us your support for other programmes organized by us. This would include our upcoming discussion on "The Introduction to the Worldview of Islam" by Dr Farid Shahran on the 27th of Feb 2010.

Again, we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused.

Wassalam
Suffah Study Circle

The Reduction of Faith to define 'Underclass'

Dr Yaacob Ibrahim mentioned in the news recently about the emergence of underclass Malay/Muslim group from the main community, citing "This is not Malay culture, this is a subculture". (CNA,04 January 2010, Analysis: National approach needed for underclass issue).

The question is: Is it true that the emergence of such underclass from the mainstream community a recent introduction, or a cause of accrual exploitation of the media, or is it a cause factor of the social paradigm shift in a post modern era?

During the CLF/TMSN meeting with various Malay Muslim undergraduates recently, many of us argued and brought across factors after factors that maybe the social indicators to redefine the terminology 'underclass' in our context. However, much to my dismay, few would bring across a much simpler tool to find the pin among the hay.

There were many factors most sociologists would use to redefine such a heavy term as 'underclass'. Some say it is the result of the lack of the social, cultural and economical capital of the self. Others used the term 'pathological demoralization' of the mind, or also known as the 'last mile barrier'- the psychological resistance that puts in an absence of any effect if given empowerment, resources, capitals, benefits etc. Some might be given as much as a thousand dollars, but still fail to bring itself out of the problem due to internal resistance to all forms of given welfare.

Some also might argue that 'underclass' can be seen as an Alternative Value System. It is whereby the mind chooses its state of comfort, in a way that even success might be seen as 'drinking a dozen of Heineken bottles at one go' as compared to earning large sums of money. The yardstick of success is hence viewed differently.

In addition, some introduced the 'deconstruction of empowerment'' whereby the environment, social pressures and fast-paced modernization left them socially immobile- unable to keep up with the upper segment of the society, they tend to accept their fate and not having the determination to achieve. Others say they lack help from the MMOs (Malay Muslim Organisations) due to certain policy fine prints and the lack of information with regards to social welfare.

However, in my opinion, it is a mere loss of adab in the society. Referring to the transcripts of Prof Syed Naquib Al-Attas, "I said of that it is the loss of adab. Adab is a reflection of wisdom, because this comes from the knowledge of the Prophets. It is not something that you receive from universities or even from knowledge. Because sometimes people have knowledge but no adab. Adab, the way i understood it, it is acting in conformity with justice. Justice is THE final virtue, justice is the culmination of all virtues."

He further elaborated:

As said in the Qur'an:

"Verily Allah commands that you should render back the trusts to those whom they are due (amanah); and that when you judge between men, you judge with justice..."

(Surah An-Nisa': 58)

There are 4 terms in this verse that is important.

1) That the verse is a command ('amr). And when you talk about command you talk about law. Law can only take place when people realise the commands and prohibitions and submit to it.

2) The people of authority are not leaders in legitimate power, but people that are mentioned in the Qur'an as Ulul 'Ilm (those with knowledge), Ulul Absar (those with vision), Ulul Albab (those who are in thinking). This can also mean just governments too.

3) Wisdom, which is the knowledge that tells you of the proper places of everything. Those who are given wisdom include the Prophets and the philosophers. Unfortunately some of the philosophers do not realize that wisdom comes from Allah s.w.t, thinking that wisdom comes from their own minds.

Everything has its own proper place. Things are established in its proper places in accordance to haqq which is reality and truth. Wisdom is therefore the methods of how to deal with these things, to put them into their proper places.

4) Adab is conformity with the knowledge of the proper places of things. And when this is carried out, the condition that results from this is justice. Therefore justice is the condition in which things are in their proper places.

It is in such truth that I must mentioned that the loss of adab of our society itself has degraded our society from the light of Allah SWT. It is the reduction of faith, clearly seen in the meeting, that I would boldly comment that the term 'underclass' can also mean:

"People who has experience a loss of adab in conformity with the knowledge of the proper places of things, in which the reduction of faith, the disenchantment of nature and the lack of knowledge with wisdom in dealing with issues creates a stagnant, or perhaps, a dedevelopmentation of social excellance."

Sadly, it also means it includes me, and the many people who deemed themselves as intellects, for they show 'tendencies to reduce faith and spiritual aspects' in our efforts to study this issue.

The community must realise that the Malay community is built upon the transcended revelation of Islam. Stretching from the historical revivalism of the Islamisation of the Malay Archipelago from Hinduism and animalism, and the integration of Arabic language in Malay Language (as seen from words dunia, akhirat, ruh, doa, taqwa etc); it is steadfast, deep rooted, firm and strong, in our Malay culture and language. Thus, Islam is the way of life of the Malay World. It remains as our worldview.

In the Quran, I believe many would find verses that shows how Allah SWT torture those who do mungkar (bad actions) and rewards those who do makruf (good actions). It is perhaps, in this 'amar makruf, nahi mungkar' that could be included in the redefinition of the underclass. Hence, according to Islam, it is simply, 'those who do bad deeds, and do not do good deeds' (amar mungkar, nahi makruf).

Do we include spiritual perspectives to solve this issue, or do we use spiritual aspects as our magnum opus in our spectacle to study the issue, or we simply shrug the 'religious connotations' to do favours to the sociological aspects of research? Or we simply dwell in the pool of secularism and act as though we are Gods- in control of our own actions and thoughts?

I shall end this note with a quote from Rene Descartes, French Philosopher- "Cogito Ergo Sum" or ‘I think therefore I am’.

Wallahualam bisawwab.

Seeking Meaning: An Introduction to the Islamic Worldview

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Understanding Wahabbism: A Critical Perspective

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Suffah Study Circle 5

Muhammad Saifulakhir

In the fifth meeting of Suffah, we discussed the issue of Christianity failing to Christianize Greek philosophy properly, allowing the process of secularization. Western Christianity is actually ‘patched up’ by different elements; it came under the sway of Roman influences, and gradually embraced Aristotelian philosophy and Worldview. One of the salient features of this worldview is the disenchantment of nature, making objects of nature into a mere “thing” of no sacred or symbolic meaning. This means that the study of nature is only restricted to natural laws and mechanisms.

We also grappled with the issue of a revealed religion. The revealed religion as we have understood it, is a religion that is revealed though His appointed messengers. Hence, other revealed religions according to the Western criterion, with exceptional of Islam, are not really revealed religion. It is because they have undergone certain fundamental changes in the hands of irresponsible men who try to “develop” or “evolve” the religion to suit the times.

Islam is a complete and perfect religion in its adequacy for mankind from the very beginning. It does not need to further “develop” or “evolve”. Islam, is always relevant, adequate, “modern or “new” and is always ahead of time because it transcends history.

Islam has already been made complete and perfect during the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), who interpreted it in life and whose sacred law he patterned in his teaching, his thought and saying and model actions. His companion, questioned him urgently on every conceivable and actual problem of daily life and right conduct, thought and action and guidance that summarize the needs of mankind. His teachings are answers would suffice for mankind of all ages and generation to come.

Furthermore, when the Islamic world met Greek Philosophy, Islam was able to Islamize those ideas through the intellectual efforts of the Sufis and the Mutakallimun. Through deep research and contemplation, they were able to isolate elements in Greek Philosophy that were not in line with the Islamic Creed and accept those that were seen as beneficial to the faith. This development formed a new science known as Kalam or Speculative Theology.

There is no need to make every value in Islam subjective and open to interpretation to suit the spirit of the times; the religion of Islam has its own absolute vision of God, of the Universe, of Reality, of Man and etc.

In conclusion, Islam is different from Christianity. It does not have to go through the process of development. Islam, being the final revelation is complete and perfect; it does not come under the sway of any foreign influence and is always relevant from the very beginning and for the future.

Suffah Study Circle 4

Hasanul Arifin

Of Eurocentrism

As mentioned by Ibn Khaldun in his Mukaddimah, a civilization which considers itself superior with respect to another would dictate the ways in which man is supposed to think, believe, judge and act. This is often followed by the inferior civilization, whether consciously or unconsciously. Edward Said also wrote good responses towards Eurocentrism and Orientalism in his books. As mentioned by Prof Al-Attas, Western man is always inclined to regard his culture as man's cultural vanguard. Considering itself as the most 'advanced' it has appointed itself as the representative of the human race, telling others that they too would realize the experiences that they have gone through.

There is this story of a parrot in a pet shop, whose head was accidentely shaved bald due to the negligence of its owner. Because of this experience, every time a bald person passes by the shop, it would say "Your owner accidentely shaved you bald too, didn't he?"

This parrot is the Western man and its experiences with Christianity and its misapplication of Greek metaphysics. As Muslims, we reject the Western man's claim to truths and maintain that secularization is only unique to their experiences and we are not in need of it.

The Authorities of Christian Theology

Contemporary Christian theology and thought is largely based on the views of people who did not practise the religious life, who were skeptics, agnostics, atheists and doubters. These people are mainly secular philosophers, metaphysicians, scientists, paleontologists, anthropologists, sociologists, psychoanalysts, mathematicians and linguists.

An example would be the application of existentialism, which was originally formulated by agnostic Heidegger and subsequently the atheistic Sartre, which is then re-casted into the theistic Trinitarian mould by Kierkegaard, Jaspers, Marcel and Barth. A more extreme form of Christian theology is that which is propagated by Cupitt based on the atheistic Nietzsche. Because "God is Dead", it is thus necessary for Christians to reformulate their theology based on a more 'scientific' interpretation and even throw away the concept of God altogether. Metaphysics in religion to them is not important and what's most important is the moral teachings, hence the creation of a humanistic version of Christianity. Unfortunately, this seems to be echoed by some Muslims these days.

The Authorities of Islamic Theology

In Islam, knowledge about religion and religious experience is not obtained by purely rational speculation and reflection alone. Islamic metaphysics is firmly based on knowledge gained from practical and sincere devotion to Islam; true submission to the Being according to the Revealed Law. This is Tasawwuf or Sufism, where God reveals His Secrets to those whom He Trusts.

In Islam, we acknowledge 2 types of knowledge. The first is analagous to studying a person from the outside; observing from afar how he acts and behaves. The second is analagous to knowing the person personally, and he reveals to us his concerns and secrets as a friend or lover. Therefore knowledge on Islamic metaphysics is known not only through reason and reflection, but to sincere devotion and friendship with Allah. The masters of this knowledge are the Awliya' or Friends of Allah.

As mentioned by Al-Ghazali, the metaphysics of Islam is made known by the rational speculations of the Mutakallimun grounded in Revelation, as well as the spiritual visions of the People of Reality or the Sufis.

Religion according to the West

When the secular West speaks of religion, they usually define it as a part of culture and traditions; a system of beliefs, practices and values that are products out of history and confrontation of man and nature. Religion are products of historical evolutions and processes of development.

The Revealed Religion is Al-Islam

As Muslims, we believe that Christianity is originally based on religion, but is not a revealed religion in the sense that Islam is. Both the Qur'an and sources arising within Christianity itself cast doubt on the reliability and authenticity of the reporting, interpretation and conceptualization of the Gospel.

We believe that the Prophet Jesus was sent by God and given the Al-Injil to correct the deviations of the Children of Israel and to convey Glad Tidings of the coming of the Universal Religion (Islam) that would be established by the Great Teacher whose name is given as Ahmad (Muhammad).

Prophet Jesus was not charged with establishing a new religion called Christianity as claimed by other disciples and apostles such as Paul.

Even the name "Christianity" was given to them by their Roman enemies. Therefore it cannot be called a revealed religion because it does not even have an identity to begin with; its identity was developed historically (unlike Islam).

The fact that it had to assimilate Roman Laws (because it had no Revealed Law) and that it had to borrow from Graeco-Roman thought to formulate its own metaphysics demonstrates that it was created by man who" gradually developed its system of rituals by assimilation from other cultures and traditions as well as originating its own fabrications."

Our discussions on their festivals (Christmas, Easter etc.), their icons (Santa Claus, Easter Bunny) demonstrate this as well.