Here is the first lecture (knowledge in Islam) as a MP3 file i promised to upload! Please feel free to share with your friends and family. To download simply right click on the links and choose ‘Save as…’
Here are some questions and answers Mawlaana Feizel prepared for the first lecture, i hope you find them enjoyable 
1. How does knowledge influence one’s Worldview?
Like countless millions before you, you must have asked yourself such
questions as: Who am I? Where do I come from? How did the world and the universe come into being? What am I doing in this world? Can I do what I want to, how I want to, when I want to? Where do I go from here, from this seemingly earth-bound existence? Where do we all go from here? These are questions about life and about the meaning and purpose of life. These are questions about the universe and our place in it.
The answers you give to these questions help to shape your world view. The answers in turn are determined by the knowledge we acquire of the world around us and our place in it. Your world view not only affects the way you think. It also affects the way you act or behave. Your world view shapes the quality of your life.
Therefore the knowledge we acquire determines our world view, which in turn determines our attitudes and actions, which in turn determines our reality or the world in which we live. Keeping this in mind understand that modern civilization is one which founds itself upon economic activity and erects its educational and moral system on that activity as a base, giving no weight in public life to spirituality and faith. Indeed, a civilization which so regards human life is bound to bring upon mankind all the calamities which have befallen our world in recent centuries. Under its aegis, any attempt to prevent war and to establish universal peace will prove futile and vain, for in Modern civilization, man’s relation to man is based upon the loaf of bread and the struggle which man wages against his fellow men in order to get it for himself, a struggle the success of which depends upon the animal power which each one of us can marshall for the purpose. It is indubitable that every man will watch for the best occasion to cheat his fellow out of his loaf of bread. Every man will regard his fellow man as his enemy rather than his brother, and personal morality will have nothing but the animal in us on which to stand. This is true though man’s animality may remain hidden until need uncovers it, for only utility is consonant with such a moral foundation. Charity, altruism, love, brotherhood – in short, all the principles of nobler morality and the values of higher humanity – will forever pass over a consciousness disciplined by such a civilization just as water passes off the back of a duck.
T’he actualities of the contemporary world furnish empirical evidence for these claims. Competition and struggle are the first principles of the economic system and the most salient characteristic of Modern civilization. In it, the worker competes with his fellow worker, the capitalist with his fellow capitalist, and worker and capitalist are committed enemies of each other. T’he devotees of this view regard struggle and competion as the forces of mans good and progress. They regard these forces as the source of motivation for the pursuit of perfection and the division of labour, as well as for a just criterion for the distribution of wealth. But as long as struggle and competition for wealth are the essence of life, then it will remain a consequence that the people and nations of the world will struggle and prey upon one another in order to realize their purposes. In this atheistic twenty first century we have witnessed sufficient evidence to convince anyone that a world founded upon such a world view may dream of, but never realize, peace.
Unlike Modern civilization, the civilization of Islam is built upon a spiritual base in which man is first and foremost called upon to by the knowledge it provides to recognize ultimate reality, Allah, and to realize his position in the world with regard to Allah. Whenever man’s consciousness of this relation reaches the point of certainty and conviction, that conviction will nourish his heart as well as his mind with the sublime principles of magnanimity, contentment, brotherhood, love, charity and piety. On the basis of such principles man will then organize his economic life. Islamic civilization is first and foremost a spiritual civilization. In it, the spiritual order constitutes the groundwork of the system of knowledge and education, of personal and social morality. The principles constituting the moral order in turn constitute the ground work of the economic system. It is therefore not permissible in this civilization that any moral principle be sacrificed for the sake of the economic system.
The pursuit and acquisition of wealth, and its use as an instrument for the domination of man over man, have always been and still are the cause of the misery of the world, of revolutions, and of wars. The worship of wealth was and still is the cause of the moral deterioration which has enveloped the world and of which human society continues to suffer. It is the acquisition, pursuit, and hoarding of wealth which has destroyed human fraternity and planted enmity between man and man. Were men to follow a higher vision and had they a noble bent of mind, they would have realized that fraternity is more conducive to happiness than wealth, that to spend wealth on the needy is worthier with ALLAH and with men than the subjugation of men to its dominion. Were they truly convinced of Allah, they would realize this fraternity toward one another, and they would fulfil, as the least requirement of such a fraternity, the duties of rescuing the needy, assisting the deprived, and putting an end to the misery and suffering brought about by poverty and want. This only becomes possible when the knowledge which informs the worldview is based on revelation.
2. What are the categories of knowledge?
Broadly speaking, knowledge that is useful, beneficial and even indispensable for the wellbeing of man includes:
• knowledge of the Creator;
• knowledge of man and his functioning that will bring him closer to the Creator -such knowledge is related to ‘ibaadah or worship;
• knowledge of nature which has been made subservient to man. This includes knowledge of the physical sciences, the use of reason, observation and experimentation to find out how the world works, to gain a knowledge of astronomy for navigation, agriculture, animal husbandry, medical sciences, oceanography for benefitting from the seas and so on;
• knowledge of history and geography for we are told in the Qur’an to travel through the earth and see what has been the fate of earlier peoples and civilizations;
• knowledge of the role of prophets and in particular of the last and final prophet, Muhammad, upon whom be peace;
• knowledge of what is right and wrong. Such knowledge is tied to akhlaaq or ethics and moral values and underpins the pursuit and practice of all knowledge.
3. What is the relationship between knowledge, worship and ethics?
Knowledge is connected in Islam with worship. The acquiring of knowledge is worship, reading the Qur’an and pondering upon it is worship, travelling to gain knowledge is worship. The practice of knowledge is connected with ethics and morality – with promoting virtue and combatting vice, enjoining right and forbidding wrong. This is called in the Qur’an: amr bi-l ma’ruufwa nah-y ‘ani-l munkar.
The main purpose of acquiring knowledge is to bring us closer to God. It is not simply for the gratification ofthe mind or the senses. Itis not knowledge for its own sake or science for its own sake. Knowledge accordingly must be linked with values and goals.
One of the purposes of acquiring knowledge is to gain the good of this world, not to destroy it through wastage, arrogance and shamelessness in the reckless pursuit of obscene material comforts.
Another purpose of knowledge is to spread freedom and dignity, truth and justice. It is not to gain power and dominance for its own sake. We can thus say that:
Knowledge + Power + Arrogance = Tyranny and injustice
Knowledge + Power + Ethics = Justice and freedom.
Knowledge in Islam is therefore pursued and practiced with modesty and humility which in turn leads to beauty and dignity, freedom and justice.
According to this, even if a Muslim by name has knowledge and power and acts arrogantly, he would be creating injustice and tyranny. Conversely, if a person who is not Muslim but has knowledge and power and uses it according to his natural ethical inclinations, he is likely to create a state of justice and freedom.
4. What categories of knowledge are absolutely necessary?
Obviously, what we may call the reservoir of knowledge is deep and unfathomable. It is a vast and open field that is not only limited to the world of nature and observation.
It is impossible for anyone to gain anything more than a fraction of what there is to know in the short span ofone life. We must therefore decide what is most important for us to know and how to go about acquiring this knowledge.
5. Fundamental Knowledge and Professional Knowledge?
For our purposes here, it may be convenient to divide knowledge into two parts:
I. Fundamental or Essential knowledge. This is knowledge which everyone must have to fulfil his natural functions as a human being, i.e. the functions of being a Muslim;
2. Professional knowledge. Knowledge which a person would need in order. to earn a living. This would require knowledge of a particular discipline or skills. The choice of profession may be decided by a person’s individual talents and interests or the needs of his community; both the choice of profession and the manner in which it is conducted are also shaped by aspects of fundamental knowledge.
Fundamental knowledge
1.The Qur’an is our most important link with reality. You must therefore acquire a knowledge of the Qur’an and its essential guidance.
2. You need to have a knowledge of the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad. This is because his Sunnah is the practical method or path for implementing Islam. The Sunnah includes what the noble Prophet said, what he did and what he agreed to.
3. In order to really understand the Qur’an you need to acquire a knowledge of Arabic. A sufficient knowledge of Arabic is also necessary in order to perform obligatory duties like Salaat or Prayer.
4. From the Qur’an and the Sunnah you need to have a knowledge of the Shari’ah, the Islamic Moral and Legal System which regulates man’s actions. We need to know the sources of the Shari’ah, its purposes and how it categorises life’s transactions, that is, what is lawful (halaal) and what is unlawful (haraam) and the principles and values that govern each. A knowledge of at least one school of Islamic jurisprudence or Madhhab is therefore indispensable for gaining an authentic and comprehensive knowledge of the Shari’ah.
Professional Knowledge
It is important for a Muslim to acquire the knowledge of a skill in order to obtain a livelihood. The more skills you acquire, the better it would be for your freedom of career choice and independence. It would be better for your community as well. If a particular community lacks essential expertise in any given area, it becomes Fard Kifaayah or compulsory on the community to get people trained in that particular field. Islamic scholarship is one such example in Australia. If a community needs more farmers, or more doctors or more teachers or more munitions manufacturers, it should create the facilities for the training and employment of such skills.
In pursuing professional knowledge and skills, it is important to realise that the use of any technologies should be subjected to the requirements of what is halaal and haraam. If nuclear arms, chemical or biological weapons are deemed to be haraam because their use would inevitably involve the killing of innocents and non-combatants which is forbidden in the Sunnah, then such knowledge and skills would not be acquired.
Intellectual Pursuits
“Whoever is not concerned with the situation of Muslims is not one of them,” said the noble Prophet. Over and above knowledge that is necessary for individual practices and needs, the Muslim needs to have knowledge of the times in which he lives.
We now live in a complex and difficult world and are dominated by forces -systems of knowledge, technologies and economics -which have marginalised Islam and Muslims, and created much destruction and havoc in the world.
Muslims have a duty to themselves and to others to know the contemporary world intimately, to be able to analyse it using principles and concepts from the Islamic worldview, from the Qur’an and the Sunnah, and to offer alternatives for the future direction of man.
If you have the talents, the capacity and the resources, and especially if you !, are in position of authority and responsibility, it is your duty to take on the challenge of contemporary knowledge.
There are many principles and concepts in the Qur’an and the Sunnah which need to be applied to contemporary human needs.
When, for example, the Qur’an speaks of man’s khilaafah (stewardship) and amaanah (trust and responsibility), it is important to ask how these concepts shape our attitude to politics, to economic development, to the environment and ecological balance. When, for example, the Prophet says that “Purity is half of faith” and “Cleanliness is part of faith” -how does this affect health and sanitation requirements of people living in overcrowded cities and slums in many parts of the world? When the Prophet warned that non-combatants should not be killed in a war, how do we allow the use of bombs and the growth of the nuclear armament industry?
Such knowledge and strategies to bring about a better, more just, more car ing, and in the end a safer world for ourselves and generations to come may be classified as fard kifaayah on the Muslim community. If such knowledge is not pursued and put into actionn by scholars and rulers, the whole ummah would be held to be blameworthy. The task before you is not merely the collection of data and the elaboration of theories. It is the task of developing communication networks from the family and neighbourhood to global levels and disseminating this knowledge with such vigour that the present dominance of what is false or baatil is eclipsed and marginalised. The tendency of many Muslims is to concentrate almost exclusively on only minor issues and on certain rituals is a sign of fatal escapism.
There are other aspects of knowledge, of the study of man and the universe, which are worthy of continuous research. Man needs always to reflect on and delve more into the “signs” of God and join the ranks of those “steeped in
knowledge” according to the Qur’an. If you have the talents and resources such pioneering research at the frontiers of knowledge must be part of your vocation. Such research is not to be determined solely by the needs of commercial corporations or arms manufacturers, for example, but should lead to a greater awareness of the power and wisdom of God and your utter dependence on Him.
6. But what about science?
No single person on his own, no matter how clever he is, can give complete, valid and satisfying answers to the questions about the origins of the world and man’s place in it, about life and destiny. No group of persons can do so either. For example, all the knowledge of the world and the universe amassed by scientists throughout the ages is knowledge of only a small part of reality. However much scientists in the future may come to know, there will always be a point where they must say, “We do not know.” From the standpoint of science, the universe is like an old book the first and last pages of which have been lost. Neither the beginning nor the end is known. Thus, the worldview of science is a knowledge of the part, not of the whole.
Science, as the word is now Widely understood, acquaints us with the situation of some parts of the universe; it cannot explain the essential character of the whole universe, its origin or its destiny. The scientist’s worldview is like the knowledge about the elephant gained by those who touched it in the dark. The one who felt the elephant’s ear supposed the animal to be shaped like a fan; the one who felt its leg supposed it to be shaped like a column; and the one who felt its back supposed it to be shaped like a throne. Science it has been said is like a powerful searchlight in the long winter night, lighting up a small area in its beam but unable to shed light beyond its border. This is not to pronounce on its usefulness or otherwise; it is only to say that it is limited.
Fortunately, in our quest for a true and valid worldview, human beings do have a special gift or power -the power of reason and logic. Of course, we must realise that this power is in itself limited: it is like a precision balance which you might use for weighing gold but you would be vain and foolish to think of using it to weigh mountains. Still, if reason is properly used, it could point to some of the real answers about our place in this world. At the very least, this power of reason could be used to show which theory or which worldview is false or inadequate.
Of any worldview, we may ask:
• Does it portray the truthand is it at least reasonable? We should not be content with a worldview that is false and that is not supported by reason and logic.
• Is it capable of explaining reality as a whole? We should not be content with a worldview that can only explain or furnish knowledge on a part of reality.
• So far as human beings are concerned, does the worldview cater for and can it satisfy human needs and potentials?
• Does it provide proper values to live by and valid goals to strive for? Which of the worldviews that have shaped people’s lives can thus be described as valid and reasonable, complete and logically satisfying?
I hope everyone has had an opportunity to reflect on the lecture given last Sunday, as their were some fantastic questions raised during the discussion. Here are the questions raised about ‘Knowledge in Islam’. Please feel free to add your own comments on the lecture in the space bellow.
Question 1
“Education for our children in Australia – Even the Islamic schools tend to focus on training our children vocationally rather than spiritually, what would an effective curriculum look like?
Answer
• Responsibility lies on parents shoulders
• Collaboration in communities, like minded parents getting together
• Madrassa – afternoon Islamic schools (success in SA) A few parents getting together (structured program, from Alim/scholar)
• Experts (People from an education background, syllabus development etc)
Question 2
“What is Aqidah?”
Answer
• Means to “Tie your faith and root you” called Kalam as well, important to have clear understanding
Question 3
“ The Archbishop of Canterbury raised a discussion the other day about the possibility of implementing parts of Shariah in Britain, I was just wondering will that work implementing as a separate identity or must it be applied in its full capacity, not just picking a choosing aspects?”
Answer
• Not a parallel legal system, just offer alternate paths of voluntary arbitration (outside of legal courts)
• Success stories in South Africa again.
• Allow the Muslim community to positively influence the system of law in that country. Actively engage, lawyers, barristers, government polices. Eg Islamic Economics (seen as new and innovative)
• The Shariah was implemented in stages in the past
• Need to be mature in the approach. (Comparable to a conventional law degree, study for 5-6 years)
• Need to have people well versed in both (Common law, and Shariah), or at least a partnership with leading academics in their respective fields.
Question 4
“What is your opinion on Islamic internet sites offering fatwa’s, how are we (young Muslim’s) supposed to react?
Answer
“Those most bold in issuing fatwa’s are those most bold to leap into the fires of Hell” – Muhammad (pbuh)
• People who speculate on aspects of Quran, approach with extreme caution.
• Look at the Prophets example, then the companions, next generation and the next (four schools of jurisprudence etc)
• Consensus of the community
• Look to your own Communities scholars, people you are familiar with.
*Update* – Mp3 of first lecture to be added shortly!
Please click on the picture below to go to the Adobe site if you don’t have a PDF reader
This is the first lecture in our series, starting on the 10th of February at UWA. All are welcome.
Recent Comments