Worldview of Islam Series WISE

This module serves as an introduction to the Islamic worldview, its features and fundamental elements such as the nature of God; of Relevation (i.e. the Holy Qur'an); of his Creation; of man and the psychology of the human soul; of knowledge; of religion; of freedom; and of values and virtues, in comparison with the dominant secular worldview. The profound and intimate relationship between the worldview and the language that projects it will also be explicated.

This module aims to clarify the internal problem of the Muslims, which includes the corruption of knowledge, the loss of adab and the rise of false leaders. The factors that contribute to the emergence of such problems are explored and debated such as incessant sectarianism, the restriction of religious knowledge, the vilification of tasawwuf and the breach of trust and dereliction of duties in the political sphere.

This module mainly seeks to describe the meaning, characteristics and purpose of knowledge; its ultimate source and main channels; as well as its classifications. In so doing, the relationship between knowledge and truth, the fundamental distinction between knowledge and information, the intimate link between knowledge, man and God, and the opposites of knowledge shall also be explored. Where appropriate, the aforementioned shall be discussed in comparison with the Western conceptions of, as well as approaches to, knowledge.

This module explores the true nature of man according to the Worldview of Islam. It will touch upon various key concepts pertaining to the manner of creation of man, of his dual nature as a physical being and spirit, the purpose of his existence, of his original responsibility and ultimate fate in this world, all of which will be contrasted against the concept of man in the Western secular tradition of anthropology and psychology. This module also explores the meaning and experience of happiness in relation to the twin concepts of virtue and freedom, which is closely connected to the original nature of man, and in contradistinction with the concept of misery which culminates in the notion of tragedy as acted out in the history of the Western civilization from past to present. The various degrees of happiness and the profound relationship between happiness with the truth and certainty will also be explained.

This module discusses the definition and meaning of secularization as a philosophical program. The secularization of the natural world as it unfolded in the history of the Western civilization from the period of the ancient Greeks till the present day will be described. The process of secularization which affects political life by relativizing absolute values and denies religious truths will be explored. Several lessons offered by the attempts of Western Christianity to stem the tide of secularization will also be investigated. This module also describes the external challenges faced by the Muslims in the form of the dominant Western civilization, including the definition and characteristic features of the Western civilization and the numerous points of conflict between the Islamic and Western civilizations in terms of worldviews, militaristic occupation, political and economic hegemony, and ideological and cultural infiltration.

This module explores the meaning of the religion of Islam based upon the Holy Qur'an and the Hadith and through the lives of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) and the Companions. The study of religion from the perspectives of falsafah, kalam and tasawwuf will be described. A historical overview of the engagement between Islam and other religions will be provided. Several key issues in the field of comparative religion such as religious pluralism and interfaith dialogues from within the Islamic and Western frameworks will be touched upon.

This module aims to (i) expound upon the Islamic conception of the Cosmos (al-‘alam) as the created Book of Divine Signs (ayatuLlah fi al-kawn) that expresses and explicates the Truth of the uncreated Book of Revelation (al-Qur’an); to (ii) sketch out the implications of such an understanding for the cultivation and direction of the various disciplines of knowledge in the Muslim community, especially that of the human and natural sciences (including, to some extent, the religious sciences); and hence to (iii) advocate for the tafsir and ta’wil interpretive framework in the study of the natural world, and thereby to (iv) counter the secularization of the sciences, leading to their systemic dewesternization and Islamization. Case studies from the fields of medicine, agriculture, physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology, economics, ecology, psychology, politics and education (including fiqh and usul al-fiqh) shall be discussed briefly to illustrate the conceptual, structural and operational unfolding of this Dewesternization-Islamization project over the short, medium and long term.

The module will explore the meaning of ta’dib as the guiding principle in the formulation of a genuinely Islamic philosophy of education. The purpose and goals of education in Islam will be studied in order to arrive at a educational framework that is conceptually sound and can be translated into a systematic program in the form an Islamic education system.