{"id":180637,"date":"2024-10-28T22:15:54","date_gmt":"2024-10-28T22:15:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/?p=180637"},"modified":"2024-10-31T10:50:51","modified_gmt":"2024-10-31T10:50:51","slug":"an-insight-to-islamic-philosophy-and-the-islamisation-of-philosophy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/?p=180637","title":{"rendered":"An Insight to Islamic Philosophy and the Islamisation of Philosophy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By, Megawati Moris<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Philosophy in the Islamic\u00a0intellectual\u00a0tradition is referred to both as\u00a0falsafah<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0\u1e25<\/em>ikmah<\/em>. The former term is the Arabisation of the\u00a0Greek\u00a0term\u00a0philosophia<\/em>\u00a0meaning\u00a0\u201clove of wisdom\u201d\u00a0and the latter is the term taken from the Qur\u2019\u0101n to\u00a0signify a Divine gift\u00a0of abundant good,\u00a0and\u00a0wisdom derived from\u00a0al-<\/em>kit\u0101b<\/em>\u00a0(the Book) and\u00a0the\u00a0prophets. Yet\u00a0Muslims\u00a0treat\u00a0philosophy with suspicion and\u00a0caution\u00a0even when\u00a0the\u00a0Qur\u2019\u0101nic\u00a0term\u00a0hikmah<\/em>\u00a0(wisdom)\u00a0refers\u00a0to it.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are the reasons for this fear of a\u00a0science\u00a0(\u2018ilm<\/em>)\u00a0or\u00a0discipline which\u00a0exalts the use of\u00a0the intellect (al-\u2018aql<\/em>) or intelligence\u00a0as\u00a0exhorted in the Qur\u2019\u0101n?\u00a0The\u00a0primary reason\u00a0put forward for this\u00a0phenomenon\u00a0is\u00a0that\u00a0Greek philosophy\u00a0had\u00a0influenced\u00a0Islamic philosophy\u00a0and\u00a0that there\u00a0were\u00a0Greek\u00a0ideas\u00a0and teachings which Muslim philosophers injected into their own\u00a0thoughts\u00a0while\u00a0still\u00a0maintaining\u00a0their\u00a0Islamic perspective. The past Muslim scholars\u00a0both\u00a0from the disciplines\u00a0of\u00a0kalam<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0tasawwuf<\/em>\u00a0appreciated\u00a0and\u00a0accommodated\u00a0—\u00a0in varying degrees\u00a0—\u00a0the philosophical thoughts of their\u00a0Greek\u00a0predecessors such as\u00a0Pythagoras,\u00a0Socrates, Plato,\u00a0and\u00a0Aristotle\u00a0into their\u00a0own\u00a0works.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These Greek philosophers were the early rationalists and empiricists who thought deeply and observed nature closely to seek answers for the fundamental questions which relate to the nature of reality, such questions on human nature and the underlying reality of the universe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Islamic philosophers applied these universal questions to their own worldview as Muslims, inspired by what the Qur\u2019\u0101n revealed to them. If the Greek philosophers discovered their answers from the intellect (Greek: nous<\/em>) and nature (Greek: physis<\/em>). The Muslim philosophers contemplated using the \u2018<\/em>aql<\/em> and the Qur\u2019\u0101n (wa<\/em>\u1e25<\/em>y<\/em>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Islam,\u00a0the two books of\u00a0revelation\u00a0are\u00a0the cosmos\u00a0and the\u00a0Qur\u2019\u0101n\u00a0namely,\u00a0the\u00a0creational Qur\u2019\u0101n\u00a0(al-Qur\u2019\u0101n al-<\/em>takw<\/em>\u012bn<\/em>\u012b<\/em>) and the\u00a0written\u00a0Qur\u2019\u0101n\u00a0(al-Qur\u2019\u0101n al-<\/em>tadw\u012bn\u012b<\/em>)\u00a0or more commonly referred to as\u00a0\u0101y\u0101t<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>All\u0101h<\/em>\u00a0(signs of God).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In both cases,\u00a0from the Islamic perspective,\u00a0it is the\u00a0\u2018aql<\/em>\u00a0(faculty of knowing)\u00a0that contemplates\u00a0on both books of revelation\u00a0which are sources of knowledge\u00a0(\u2018<\/em>ilm<\/em>)\u00a0and wisdom made available to human beings\u00a0by the Supreme Being\u00a0or the\u00a0Creator and Sustainer of the universe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within the framework of taw<\/em>\u1e25\u012b<\/em>d<\/em>, the central doctrine of Islam, the subject, who is the human self is to discover or find (wajada<\/em>) the object, God, or Absolute Reality (al-<\/em>\u1e24aqq<\/em>), which leads to unified knowledge or wisdom. This is the main preoccupation of philosophy which is being or existence (wuj<\/em>\u016b<\/em>d<\/em>) and at the same time consciousness or awareness (wajd<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hence, when the question was posed what the project of Islamisation of philosophy entails, my response was that although philosophy and particularly Greek philosophy is a universal intellectual endeavour and hence ought to be applicable to all of humankind certain of its views and theories need to be particularized within the new framework that was revealed by the Qur\u2019\u0101n not known to the Greeks before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Islamic philosophy is Islamic in essence since it is rooted in the two main sources of Islam, the Qur\u2019\u0101n and \u1e24ad\u012bth, However, as explained earlier, there were doctrines which originated from Greek philosophy, and they became part of the Islamic philosophical system in areas including metaphysics, ethics, and politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u00a0then\u00a0is Islamisation of\u00a0Greek\u00a0philosophy\u00a0in relation to Islamic philosophy,\u00a0and what is its essential task?\u00a0Its essential task,\u00a0I posit,\u00a0is to\u00a0identify,\u00a0analyse,\u00a0evaluate,\u00a0and\u00a0explicate\u00a0the concepts\u00a0and terms\u00a0which originated from\u00a0Greek\u00a0philosophy\u00a0as\u00a0applied\u00a0and\u00a0adapted\u00a0to\u00a0the doctrines\u00a0and\u00a0formulated by the\u00a0Islamic philosophers\u00a0into\u00a0their own philosophical\u00a0system.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A good example to illustrate in metaphysics is Aristotle\u2019s concept of existence and the distinction between essence (m\u0101hiyyah<\/em>) and existence (wuj\u016bd<\/em>) as expounded by Islamic philosophers such as Ibn Sina to establish his own doctrines but placing them within anIslamic theological worldview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this process, the concepts and terms used in Islamic philosophy would become clearersince they have been defined and contextualised into the new worldview from which they were taken. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the accomplishment of this\u00a0Islamisation\u00a0task,\u00a0I\u00a0believe\u00a0the\u00a0benefits would be\u00a0manifold and significant.\u00a0They are:\u00a0One,\u00a0students\u00a0of Islamic\u00a0revealed knowledge\u00a0particularly, philosophy\u00a0would\u00a0be familiar with both philosophical traditions\u00a0and their knowledge\u00a0of philosophy\u00a0enriched. Two,\u00a0with\u00a0clarity and understanding\u00a0they\u00a0would be\u00a0more receptive to\u00a0the discipline of\u00a0Islamic\u00a0philosophy\u00a0since they\u00a0would\u00a0no longer consider\u00a0doctrines which have Greek influences\u00a0to be heresy\u00a0(kufr<\/em>)\u00a0or innovation\u00a0(bid\u2018<\/em>ah<\/em>).\u00a0Three,\u00a0this\u00a0teaching methodology\u00a0would produce\u00a0students with critical thinking skills\u00a0and\u00a0inculcate\u00a0qualities of\u00a0trust\u00a0and compassion\u00a0in them. Four,\u00a0this\u00a0academic exercise\u00a0will\u00a0contribute to the promotion of\u00a0intellectual\u00a0and philosophical\u00a0discourse\u00a0which\u00a0would\u00a0bridge\u00a0the\u00a0Western\u00a0and Islamic intellectual traditions. Five,\u00a0examining the\u00a0two\u00a0different\u00a0philosophical\u00a0traditions\u00a0prevent misunderstanding and misinterpreting.\u00a0Six,\u00a0it fosters\u00a0mutual understanding\u00a0and\u00a0contribute\u00a0to the promotion\u00a0of\u00a0peaceful coexistence\u00a0in society and across civilisations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These\u00a0goals\u00a0certainly\u00a0reflect\u00a0the IIUM Philosophy of Knowledge\u00a0and\u00a0are in line\u00a0with its mission and vision.***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Dr. Megawati Moris is Associate Professor in the Department of\u00a0Usul\u00a0al-Din & Comparative Religion, AHAS KIRKHS, IIUM<\/em>.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By, Megawati Moris Philosophy in the Islamic\u00a0intellectual\u00a0tradition is referred to both as\u00a0falsafah\u00a0and\u00a0\u1e25ikmah. The former term is the Arabisation of the\u00a0Greek\u00a0term\u00a0philosophia\u00a0meaning\u00a0\u201clove of wisdom\u201d\u00a0and the latter is… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":239,"featured_media":180787,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,6],"tags":[],"nelio_content":{"isAutoShareEnabled":true,"autoShareEndMode":"never","automationSources":{"useCustomSentences":false,"customSentences":[]},"followers":[257,239],"suggestedReferences":[],"efiUrl":"","efiAlt":"","highlights":[],"permalinkQueryArgs":[]},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Image-Ibn-Sina-statue.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180637"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/239"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=180637"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180637\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":180692,"href":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180637\/revisions\/180692"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/180787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=180637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=180637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=180637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}