Views from Muslim Scholars

Can Muslims provide an Islamic perspective of human nature which are acceptable by scientific standards?

2010-01-10T19:12:00.001-08:00

On the basis of the Qur’an and hadith, the nature of man is complex, encompassing many different aspects of the physical and the inner self. These sources also emphasize the socio-cultural factors in shaping man’s nature. However, at present, Muslims have yet to develop a coherent framework or approach that can incorporate all these different aspects of man as an alternative to the biopsychosocial model. There has been an attempt in the West to synthesise at least two psychological perspectives to form a new sub-discipline or area of research in psychology such as biological and cognitive perspectives (in the form of cognitive neuroscience), biology and behaviourism (in the form of socio-biology), and behaviourism and cognitive perspectives (in the form of social cognition). It is difficult and rare to find any integration between psychodynamic and humanistic perspectives with other more ‘scientific’ perspectives like the biological, cognitive, and behavioural perspectives.

The alternative Islamic framework must incorporate the spiritual side of man because this is what distinguishes the Islamic perspective of human nature from contemporary perspectives in psychology. By acknowledging this spiritual presence, man concedes to be a transcendent being, created by God (and thus accountable to Him). Based on the framework, Muslim psychologists can develop an Islamic theory (or theories) of human nature which can be used as a guide for research, to be empirically tested and eventually accepted as an alternative psychological perspective by the scientific community.

This Islamic psychological perspective should provide a better unified and integrated model of psychology because it considers the biological, psychological, socio-cultural, and spiritual factors in describing and explaining human behaviour and mental processes. As mentioned, although the Qur’an touches on all these perspectives, their relationship with one another is not obvious due to the organisation of the Qur’an itself. What can be discerned is that these perspectives are united by the concept of the soul (most notably, the concept of iman), which forms the umbrella under which all the different perspectives are subsumed. Using this alternative framework, Muslim researchers and students must conduct research to obtain scientific evidence and then interpret the research findings based on the general understanding of human nature as stipulated in the Qur’an and hadith. Existing research from modern psychology can always be used to support the Islamic framework. The challenge is to further refine the theories developed under this Islamic framework to make it more testable.

As suggested by Badri (1979), the Qur’an and hadith should be used to guide us to the laws of human nature. These laws can be used as the backbone to build a theory (or theories) about human nature based on the writings of early Muslim scholars and contemporary research findings. When teaching any topics in psychology we need to understand the underlying philosophy of human nature of the Western theories and its applications. We can also (re)interpret any research result in the light of how Islam views human nature. Finally, applications of psychological principles should also consider our understanding of the Islamic view of human nature. This needs constant effort from teachers and students alike in using Islamic perspective as the theoretical framework to guide research on human behaviour and mental processes, and/or using it to explain and make sense of research results reported by both Islamic and secular researchers.

If the scientists argue that ’soul’ is unobservable and thus cannot be scientifically studied, we will answer: We are not studying soul scientifically. Rather we accept and acknowledge its existence manifesting itself in the form of behaviours and mental processes - the very focus of secular psychology.

Moreover, even natural sciences accept the existence of unobservable phenomena yet study their manifestations e.g.

1. Physic: Electricity, energy, momentum, gravity, atom, x-ray

2. Chemistry: Air, molecule, ion

3. Biology: Solar energy, neural impulse,

Does this make natural sciences less scientific? In fact, even psychology (that sometimems unashamedly wanted to become a natural science) studies unobservable phenomena: Mental processes, unconscious factors, self, etc. It is up to us Muslims social scientists to be critical, confident and creative to promote Islamic ideas.

Issue of Khalimah "Allah".. simple but meaningful answer by Prof Naquib al attas

2010-01-06T17:43:00.000-08:00

On December 13, 2009, during the Worldview of Islam Seminar organized by the Assembly of Muslim Intellectuals or Himpunan Keilmuan Muda (HAKIM), there was a question being posted to Professor Al-Attas regarding the polemical usage of the word "Allah" by the non-Muslims.

Below is the transcript of his brief-but-yet-concise enlightening remarks. As a word of caution, though, one must not only rely on this brief transcript alone to understand the whole spectrum of Prof. Al-Attas' view about this theological matter. Further thorough elucidation of his thought can be found in numerous works of this great Muslim scholar of this age, such as Prolegomena to the Metaphysics of Islam, Islam and Secularism, Islam dalam Sejarah dan Kebudayaan Melayu and A Commentary on Hujjat al-Siddiq of Nur al-Din al-Raniri.

Question: The using of kalimah “Allah” by other people in this country Answers by Prof. Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas:

Well I have been talking about this long time ago. I remember about this in ISTAC, when we first established ourselves (late 80’s and early 90’s), I think the Arcbishop of Penang was asking this question. And I have answered that.

And then we had a meeting with the Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur and about all the representatives of Christianity, including the ministers, we had a meeting at ISTAC.

And I said, “Why you want to use the word ‘Allah’ for yourself?”

They said “we going to pray in Bahasa Malaysia”

That’s the way they put it. So my answers to them, “Why you have to change praying into Bahasa Malaysia. You have been praying in English all the time. Why suddenly change into Bahasa Malaysia?”

Ok, so they said they want to change so that it more patriotic. Then in that case I’m saying that “why don’t you use Tuhan while praying in Bahasa Malaysia? Because you are talking about God isn’t it?…God is not just a name…”Allah” is a name of this Being whom you called God… and in fact a Being whom even higher than what you called to be God”

And then I said, “ …and “Allah” is not from Bahasa Malaysia. It is not a national language. It belongs to the language of Muslim all over the world. Therefore your argument using this for the word “Allah” does not fit into your idea of God. Because “Allah” does not have a son, It is not one of three (Trinity), that is why out of respect to Allah we can’t allow you to use this.“

But when we Muslim, when we write in English we say God, or when we talk to people we say God but we mean “Allah”…but they cannot say when they speak about God it means “Allah” as they don’t mean it.

So in this particular respect, we have to be clear about this, not was-was (hesitate)...whomever responsible in our governing, they have to be clear about this and to explain to others.

We agree you want to use God, then use Tuhan as we also use that…but we understand in the Malay language that Tuhan is not a translation of Allah..that is why we say “tiada Tuhan melainkan Allah” not “tiada Tuhan melainkan Tuhan”. We don’t say “there is not God but God”..at least the ulama’ among the Muslim Malays, we understand what is the meaning of that (word “Allah”).

So “Allah” cannot be translated as no language has translated Allah. The Arabs themselves they only use that after Islam..although the word existed (before)..the Christians Arab they also did not use Allah (in theological, epistemological and ontological sense in the same manner as the Muslim)..if they say that it is just a language..they talking about language..because they say “Allah” like the Muslim when they (melatah)…

So it appears they want to do that in order to confuse the Muslim into thinking that all the same..that is why I say one of the problems about religion is the nature of God..about who Allah is..that is why in Arkanul Iman (The Pillars of Faith), the first thing is “amana billah”.

“Who is this Allah?” and that need to be explain at higher institution in a proper way…

So we have answer the question. It is not proper to allow them using this, since they asking us and there is no point bringing this to court since this is not a matter of court to decide it whether they have the freedom to use it or not. It is up to the Muslims.

But then if they used it and said “in Indonesia they have use it, why can’t we?”…but it is because of the Muslims..if Muslims don’t care they will go on and use it..and in Indonesia they are using not only that, other things they even call it “choir” as “selawat”. Choir is not a “selawat”, as “selawat” is for Prophet..it’s not singing hymn..

And they also talk about..in Indonesia they are also confuse..Muslims..that is why this thing happen. Sometimes the language when you come across English words like “Prophet of Doom” in Indonesia they said “Nabi celaka”. How can there be “Nabi celaka”? What is meant by the “Prophet of Doom” is…even the word Prophet in English does not mean “Nabi” only…it means “yang meramalkan malapetaka”..that what it means…so the “Prophet of Doom” means “yang meramalkan malapetaka”, not “Nabi celaka”.

They (the Muslims in Indonesia) seem not to bother about this. What we can say is that ultimately well they say “God is not Allah”...well if you want to use the word God, we are saying we also use the word God, we refer to Allah as we know and we are not saying that your God ultimately will not refer to Allah. You can’t run away from Allah. You can only escape Him and so in the Qur’an (surah An-Naas) says: “Qul aAAoothu birabbi annas, Maliki annas, Ilahi annas”. He (Allah) is saying “ I am the real Ilah (God) of naas (mankind)”, although mankind (non-Muslim) does not interpret it that way.

Bekas Mufti Selangor Datuk Ishak Baharom (1928-2008) meninggal dunia

2008-01-30T00:50:00.000-08:00

Belasungkawa

Kuala Lumpur 30 Jan. - Bekas Mufti Selangor, Datuk Ishak Baharom, 80, meninggal dunia di Hospital Sungai Buloh tengah hari ini.

Beliau telah dimasukkan ke unit rawatan rapi (ICU) hospital tersebut pada pukul 6 petang semalam akibat masalah tekanan darah. Jenazah Allahyarham akan dikebumikan esok.

Source: Utusan Malaysia

Muhammad `Abduh (1849-1905)

2007-05-22T21:39:00.000-07:00

The Egyptian religious scholar, jurist, and liberal reformer, Muhammad `Abduh led a late 19th-century movement in Egypt and other Muslim countries to “modernize” Muslim institutions. He was born 1849 in the Nile Delta area and died near Alexandria on July 11, 1905.

Muhammad `Abduh was greatly influenced by Jamal ud-Din al-Afghani, the founder of the modern pan-Islamic movement which sought to unite the Muslim world under the banner of the faith. When they met in al-Azhar in 1872 `Abduh was roused from his asceticism to activism and sought to bring about a renaissance of Islam and a liberation of Muslims from colonialism. Unlike his mentor, Jamal ud-Din al-Afghani, `Abduh tried to separate politics from religious reform. `Abduh advocated the reform of Islam by bringing it back to its pristine state and casting off what he viewed as its contemporary decadence and division. His views were opposed by the established political and religious order, but were later embraced by Arab nationalism after World War I.

`Abduh spent some years in exile in Paris, where he helped al-Afghani issue the anti-British Muslim periodical al-`Urwah al- Wuthqa (The Firmest Bond). `Abduh eventually broke with al-Afghani. He taught in Beirut. Rejecting the radicalism he had embraced in the 1870’s and 1880’s, he returned to Cairo, after the favorable intervention of the British with the Khedive, to pursue educational and language reforms. This conversion to liberalism paralleled a decline in revolutionary fervor among the rural notables in the late 1880s.

`Abduh considered that the Persian and Greek elements which were dominant in Islamic tradition were not congruous with modernity, and he worked to substitute Greek philosophy with modern ideas. Because of his own limitations and insufficient knowledge of science, modern philosophy and the West, he often went beyond his simple formula of “modernity is based on reason, Islam must therefore be shown not to contradict reason, thus we may prove that Islam is compatible with modernity” to show agreement between detailed scientific theories or discoveries with the Qur’an. `Abduh interpreted certain things mentioned in the Qur’an, such as the world of jinn or the angels to agree with modern discoveries. The jinns became microbes and stories of astronomy were explained to be addressing simple people at their level of understanding.

He tried to make the theory of evolution compatible to the story of Genesis in the Qur’an and he used evolution to prove that Muhammad was the seal of the Prophets. He wanted to show that Islam does not reject the principle of causality and was determined to limit the region of the miraculous. Ash’arite Sunnis appeared to deny an automatic relationship between cause and effect, and he preferred the Mu’tazalites’ view of the world. For this reason, `Abduh was skeptical of the miracles performed by saints (Karamats). He simply strove to rely on the texts of the Qur’an and the Sunnah, without getting into their implications. `Abduh wrote, “There are two books: one created which is the universe, and one revealed which is the Qur’an and only through reason are we guided by this book to understand that one.” [Al Manar, vol. vii, p.292] The impact of Western ideas, however, as he saw them, forced him to make accommodations. Regarding prophecy, `Abduh not only considered it evolutionary in nature, but also emphasized that it is not in the jurisdiction of prophets to teach arts or industries or sciences. This idea was further developed by his students and Egyptian secularists in their search to legitimately limit the authority of religion in the social sphere.

`Abduh proposed an educational programme whose objective was for students to internalize religion to the extent that it directed every action, thus to unit them materially and spiritually in the service of Islam. In a speech he gave at Al Madrassah Al Sultaniyyah in Beirut, he said, “The sciences which we feel in need of is thought of by some people to be technology and other means of mastering agriculture and trade. This is false, for if we look at what we complain of, we find something deeper than the mere lack of technology and similar disciplines...The science which will revive the souls is the science of disciplining the soul. Such a discipline exists only in religion, therefore what we lack is extensive knowledge of the ethics of religion and what we need in accordance with our feelings is to have a true understanding of religion.”

'Abduh's ideas were met with great enthusiasm, but also by tenacious opposition. They are still a subject of contention today, nearly 80 years after his death, as questions of modernism and tradition re-emerge in conflict in the Muslim world. Although he did not achieve his goals, Muhammad 'Abduh remains a continuing influence, and his work, Risalat al-Tauhid (The Theology of Unity), is the most important statement of his thought.

Works by Muhammad `Abduh
(1903), Tafsir Surat al-`Asr, Cairo.
(1904) Tafsir juz’ `Amma, al-Matb. al-Amiriyya, Cairo.
(1927) Tafsir Manar, 12 volumes
(1954-1961), Tafsir al-Qur’an al-Hakim al-Mustahir bi Tafsir al-Manar, 12 vols. with indices, Cairo.
(1382), Fatihat al-Kitab, Tafsir al-Ustadh al-Imam…, Kitab al-Tahrir, Cairo.
(no date), Durus min al-Qur’an al-Karim, ed. by Tahir al-Tanakhi, Dar al-Hilal, Cairo.
(1966), The Theology of Unity, trans. by Ishaq Musa'ad and Kenneth Cragg. London.
Bibliography
Badawi, M. A. Zaki (1976, 1978), The Reformers of Egypt, Croom Helm, London. [Chapter 2, pp. 35-95 is devoted to `Abduh and his work.]
Baljon, J. M. S. (1961), Modern Muslim Koran Interpretation, E. J. Brill, Leiden.
Kedourie, Elie (1966), Afghani and `Abduh: An Essay on Religious Unbelief and Political Activism in Modern Islam, Frank Cass & Co. Ltd. London.

Between Maqasid al-Syariah and Western Democracy

2007-05-14T20:43:00.000-07:00

Dr. Syed Ali Tawfik al-Attas has discussed it in detail distinguishing the Islamic Democary and Western Democracy. It has been published on May 13, 2007 by Mingguan Malaysia.
Click here for detail.

An everlasting contribution

2007-05-13T22:06:00.000-07:00

According to Prof. Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, in his book "A Commentary on the Hujjah al-Siddiq of Nur-Din al-Raniri" An everlasting contribution that we can gives to someone is writing a book.

Prof. Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas di dalam pendahuluan bukunya yang bertajuk A commentary on the Hujjah al-Siddiq of Nur-Din al-Raniri menyatakan bahawa “Sumbangan yang abadi yang dapat diberikan oleh seseorang dalam keadaan seumpama ini adalah menulis sebuah buku; kerana sebuah buku dapat kekal lama selepas kerajaan, manusia, negara, catatan pemikiran dan tindakan manusia lupus.”

Understanding the definition of Knowledge

2007-05-13T21:09:00.000-07:00

Dr. Syed Ali Tawfik Al-Attas has discussed a topic with is "Understanding the Definition of Knowledge" which encountered the article published by The Sun on December 14, 2006 "Meeting to Sort out Creation Poser". Click here for detail explanation.

Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas

2007-05-13T20:06:00.000-07:00

Syed Muhammad al Naquib bin Ali bin Abdullah bin Muhsin al Attas (born September 5, 1931) is a prominent contemporary Muslim philosopher and thinker from Malaysia. He is one of the few contemporary scholars who is thoroughly rooted in the traditional Islamic sciences and who is equally competent in theology, philosophy, metaphysics, history, and literature. He is considered to be the pioneer in proposing the idea of Islamization of knowledge. Al-Attas' philosophy and methodology of education have one goal: Islamization of the mind, body and soul and its effects on the personal and collective life on Muslims as well as others, including the spiritual and physical non-human environment. He is the author of twenty-seven authoritative works on various aspects of Islamic thought and civilization, particularly on Sufism, cosmology, metaphysics, philosophy and Malay language and literature.

Viewing the opinion from Muslim Scholars

2007-05-13T19:53:00.000-07:00

This blog will gather as much as it can regarding the views of muslim scholar especially from Malaysia. The content will varies either English or Malays.