Have you ever wondered…
What is Islam?
Do we exist? If so, then why do we exist?
Who is the ‘I’ in me?
Where do we come from? And where do we go after we die?
How and why is the world created?
What causes us to do the things we do?
How do we know the things that we know?
What guides our actions and defines right and wrong?
These are the fundamental questions that relate to the meaning of life itself. Answers to these questions constitute what we define as worldview. As such, the guiding principles of the Qur’an and the sunnah will form what we know as the Islamic Worldview or Tasawwur Islam.
Tasawwur Islam is the overarching knowledge that ties all the other branches of religious knowledge. Answers to the questions posed above can be found in the study of Aqidah and Kalam, which relates to the nature of Allah in Tauhid Rububiyyah, Uluhiyyah and Asma’ Wa Sifat and the rukun iman. It is also found in the study of tasawwuf, which relates to the nature of Man, his psychology and cosmology. It also relates to the study of the syariah, rukun Islam, epistemology (definition of knowledge and its sources) and the syariah objectives (Maqasid) which forms the guiding principles of our action.
As such, a worldview is the vision of reality and truth; all the elements discussed above contribute to what we perceive as real and true. In the context of Tasawwur Islam, it is the vision of reality and truth that is defined by the religion (haqiqah), which discusses the existence of 2 different realms, that is the alam syahadah (physical world) and the alam ghayb (the unseen world).
The worldview is the environment in the mind that interprets data from our 5 senses and ideas from our intuition (ilham). As such, any sort of knowledge that comes out from a worldview is linked and dependent from the worldview it comes from.
In contemporary times, we are challenged by a dominant worldview known as secularism, whose end objective is to minimize the role of religion to that of personal and private engagements, while upholding unguided rationality as the source of wisdom and laws. Knowledge, especially Natural Sciences, that comes from this worldview minimizes or denies the existence and role of God in the creation and preservation of the world.
For instance, the secularist study of the animal kingdom would just focus on how animals behave and how they can be manipulated to be of use to mankind, without considering the why, that is, the link to the Oneness and Magnificence of Allah s.w.t as Rabb and Creator of the bacteria. In addition, being reduced to a profane ‘tool’ for Man to manipulate and reap benefits from, animals may then be ‘subjected’ to abuse and exploitation, because it has now lost its value as one of Allah’s creation and manifestation of His Magnificence!
It is thus incumbent for our scholars to step up to this challenge and respond with hikmah, as well as guide people to the purification of our akidah and our hearts, which is the vessel that would contain knowledge that is truly Islamic in essence.
It is also incumbent for us to pinpoint the true authorities in the various fields of religious knowledge, so that we can obtain knowledge in its pristine form, knowledge that is not tampered with secularism and its worldview. We must also be critical of the knowledge we receive from different sources and worldviews, so that we can isolate contents that are not in line with Tasawwur Islam, and take the best out of the knowledge we obtain.
Written by:
Hasanul Arifin Zawawi
If you would like to join us as a writer or have enquiries on Thalatha Scoop, send your questions or articles to [email protected].
