Islam and Philosophy

How does Islam view philosophy? And what is your view when Muslim philosophers of the past integrated and reconciled Islamic faith with Greek philosophy while some rejected philosophy because it is a foreign concept from Islam?

There is no doubt that Islam encourages all kinds of intellectual pursuits and scientific investigations with a view to increasing our knowledge, provided that these studies are useful to the world and humanity at large.

But at the same time, we must never lose sight of the criterion provided by the Qur'an and the Sunnah in the matter of adopting any idea for belief or for action.

As can be seen, this principle need not normally discourage a scholar from acquiring knowledge from wherever it is available; because the usefulness or otherwise of certain branches of knowledge can be determined only in due course of time. At the same time, we should avoid going after knowledge that is evidently leading to evil or utterly useless.

The Need for Philosophy Studies

Indeed in all ages, most particularly in these troubling times, we need wide and deep knowledge of the philosophies that impel the beliefs and actions of those outside the purview of Islam.

This is part of correctly understanding the ethos and motivations of other people in order to be able to talk with them and engage in discussions in language they would understand.

In fact, discussions that require the utmost skills exist in the intellectual arenas; and history teaches that negligence in the acquisition of knowledge and its proper dissemination by way of education and propagation, would undermine any victory in other fields.

The foregoing means that competent scholars among Muslims who have a natural vocation to pursue philosophical studies should not be discouraged from learning philosophy.

If so, we cannot effectively discuss positivism, nihilism, utilitarianism, fascism, Marxism and so on vis-à-vis Islam.

Without learning the philosophical bases of the above "isms", what can we say about them?

In the Qur'an we see Allah the Almighty Himself giving direction about such matters:

*{Invite to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious….}* (An-Nahl 16: 125)

What should be the kind of "wisdom" necessary for da`wah? No doubt, wisdom here means knowledge of Islam in the main.

But is that all? How can we talk with persons well-grounded in logic and philosophy without knowing anything about their own ideologies?

Obviously, we can see that a good knowledge of our addressees – meaning what they believe, what they have learned etc – will be an added advantage for us as people concerned with explaining Islam.

The Indifference of Muslims Today

In fact, the only kind of knowledge we should avoid is pernicious knowledge or what leads to destruction.

This is the reason why our scholars say that there is nothing wrong in studying philosophy as well as different philosophical branches as long as the aim of the study is to make the person well acquainted with the philosophical ideas and allow him or her to compare them with religious knowledge.

We must also bear in mind that most of the branches of knowledge useful for mankind's progress were not developed by Muslims. Allah Almighty in His wisdom uses anyone among His creatures for His purposes.

Muslims' own unpardonable indifference, narrow mindedness and complacency in the matter of study and research have been dealing us repeated setbacks in almost all arenas of progress, all through history. And yet we simply refuse to learn the obvious lessons.

If Muslims can claim today that there was a time when they were the leaders and masters of the world, it was because our scholars were not afraid to enter uncharted areas of knowledge, and also because they were ready to adopt the best of what they encountered in their intellectual journeys and to reject whatever they found unacceptable from the point of view of Islam.

Such an approach of selective acceptance based on critical evaluation was possible, because they were the most knowledgeable among the people of those days.

The Philosophical Heritage of Islam's Scholars

In contrast to the philosophy of the non-Muslim world, Islam had given birth to a religious philosophy of its own called `Ilm al-Kalam or Science of the Word.

The secular philosophy of the East receded under the impact of the criticism of such philosophy by Imam Al-Ghazzali.

The writings of Al-Ghazzali gave a boost to religious philosophy and paved the way for outstanding philosophers and mystics like Fakhruddin Ar-Razi, Nasiruddin Al-Tusi, Fariduddin Al-`Attar, Jalaluddin Al-Rumi, as well as Dr. Mohammad Iqbal and a host of modern scholars.

Without the contributions of these titans of religious philosophy, the history of Islam after its first period of glory would have been bare and barren.

From the experience of today, as well as of the past, it is repeatedly proved beyond any shadow of doubt that those who have knowledge capital control those who have financial capital.

Any doubt in this matter will be dispelled if we just open our eyes and look around to see who is controlling whom in the Muslim countries rich with natural resources, for instance.

Muslims who have Allah's Guidance with them ought not to have been in this miserable situation. But why is it not so?

The answer is in what Allah Almighty said of religious scholars who fail:

*{The similitude of those who were charged with the obligations of the Mosaic Law, but who subsequently failed in those obligations, is that of a donkey which carries huge tomes but understands them not. Evil is the similitude of people who falsify the Signs of Allah: and Allah guides not people who do wrong.}* (Al-Jumu`ah 62:5)

It is worth pondering over, to whom the above verse applies in the present world scenario.

Live and Let Live

Without going deep into the details, one may say that the present controversy between certain groups of Muslim has taken some people to adopt extreme positions.

The foregoing is not to ignore deviations and obvious aberrations from the norms of the Qur'an and the Sunnah. The point to be made here is that there need not be the kind of severe antagonism that exists today between the various "camps".

There has got to be a way of 'live-and-let-live' approach, that is to say, an attitude of leaving disputes that defy resolution to the Judgment of Allah on the Last Day, as He says in the Qur'an:

*{…If Allah had so willed, He would have made you a single people, but His plan is to test you in what He hath given you: so strive as in a race in all virtues. The goal of you all is to Allah. it is He that will show you the truth of the matters in which ye dispute.}* (Al-Ma`idah 5:48)

In matters such as differences of opinion based on variant interpretations of Divine injunctions, "agreeing to disagree" seems to be the best policy in the light of the above verse. And in the final analysis that may hopefully work out well for the Muslim nation in general.