Retrieving_the_Tradition_of_Reflection_i.pdf - Retrieving...

Retrieving the Ethos of
Reflection in Muslim Education
Abdul Karim Abdullah
Abstract
The prestige of reasoning waned when the traditionalists defeated rationalists, in the
ninth century. Reasoning deteriorated further with the emergence of taqlid and the
“closure of the doors to ijtihad . ” The dualism between traditional and present-day
education should be addressed by acknowledging that empirical subjects are not un-
Islamic, and that reasoning is an essential part of Muslim education. This process
requires the rehabilitation of reasoning and restoring to it the esteem it formerly
enjoyed not just in jurisprudence but in Muslim education more generally.
Key words : Tradition, reasoning, revelation, dualism, education
Introduction
The dualism in Muslim education arises partly from a de-emphasis on reasoning. The
decline of reasoning is traceable to the “ closing of the doors to ijtihad ” and the
attendant waning of rationalism. The perspective that emerged prioritises the authority
of tradition at the expense of reason.
1
In the present day, this perception was reinforced by the separation of knowledge into
“Islamic” and present - day, allegedly “ unIslamic ” knowledge. According to this view,
“traditional” knowledge is I slamic, but present- day knowledge is “un - Islamic.”
The categorisation of knowledge into “Islamic” and “un - Islamic” suggests a duality in
Islamic epistemology. As a result of the classification of knowledge into Islamic and
un-Islamic, traditional Muslims may be reluctant to acquire present-day knowledge
due to its allegedly ‘un - Islamic’ character.
2
Thus, an effective response requires a re-articulation of the relationship between
different types of knowledge. Differing types of knowledge are in agreement rather
1
This is reflected in the view that a tradition has be followed even if it is inconsistent with
reason.
2
The response to the emergence and utilization of present-day knowledge took the form of
“Islamizing” knowledge. Addressing the dualism by “Islamizing” present -day knowledge
proved problematic especially in relation to the empirical subjects which, due to their
descriptive nature hardly lend themselves to “Islamization.”

2
than at variance with each other. There is a need to emphasise the unity of knowledge,
in harmony with tawhidic epistemology.
3
The de-emphasis upon reason appears to rest upon the assumption that a commitment
to “faith” may dispense with reason or reasoning . This view, however, is without
basis in the Qur’an and alien to Qur’anic epistemology. This perception presupposes
severing the link between religious belief and rationality, not entirely unlike that of
the Enlightenment, which postulated a radical separation between faith and reason.
The difference between the two is that while in Europe the tension between reason
and revelation was resolved in favour of rationality, in the Muslim civilisation the
tension between reason and tradition was resolved in favour of tradition.