Concept of Islamisation of Knowledge - Dr. Abdul Hamid Abu Sulayman

Almarhum Dr. Abdul Hamid Abu Sulayman talk about Concept of Islamisation of Knowledge What is new as to the concept of "Islamization of knowledge" is that it has made it clear beyond any shadow of doubt that the crisis of the ummah does not lie in the shortage of its resources; for the Muslim world does indeed enjoy abundant human and material resources; nor is the crisis caused by lack of lofty values, ideals and goals, for Islam and its legacy is undoubtedly rich in such noble values, ideals and goals. It has also made it clear that the failed attempts at economic and political reform which either looked to the past or tried to emulate the powerful victor brought nothing but complete failure; and that despite the fact that the genuinely good intentions behind such reforms are not to be doubted, the effect they exerted was nothing but more frustration and deterioration, and the widening gap between the ummah and its enemies increased even more. Therefore, the crisis of the ummah, in the view of these Muslim youth, primarily lies in the ummah's backwardness and 'civilizational absence'. They asserted that the reason behind the failed attempts at reform was due the weakness of the reform project roots, as it were, as well as the weakness of the intellectual capacity necessary for competent performance to ameliorate the status quo of the ummah and confront the challenges. Therefore, the crisis is essentially intellectual; and that it is next to impossible to rejuvenate the ummah and provide means of success for efforts at political, economic, social, educational, scientific, technological and military reforms unless such a crisis is addressed face-to-face, employing a scientific and methodical method which is bound to reform the intellect and the approaches it adopts, overcome the state of glittering dazzle imposed by the capabilities of the covetous civilizational enemy, and surmount the negative effects of the legacy of stagnation and the distortion of the comprehensive view of Islamic civilization stagnation has effected, build the contemporary Islamic identity and establish social relations and the vital societal institutions. It was clear to this youth that comprehensive reform would not be realized without reforming the methodology of Islamic thought, restoring the civilizational Islamic outlook based on the Qur'an—being the basis of intellectual reform—, and eradicating the so-called contradiction between revelation and reason. In fact, such contradiction belongs to a world of fictitious knowledge and myriad superstitions; for revelation, fitrah, and reason actually complement one another perfectly, and such complementarity does in fact provide a means of understanding as well as a scientific outlook of civilizational, human concepts and laws of nature. Some of the negative effects of such backward heritage also reflect human, social and economic setups which have no bearing whatsoever on the world of today. Such a sorry state of affairs has regrettably prevented the Muslim mind from playing its spiritual, scientific and civilizational role in improving the quality of life, revitalizing its systems and institutions, and maintaining the process of shaping its relationships in a lively and sophisticated manner in accordance with the changes of circumstances, capabilities, and challenges. It should not give in to intellectual stagnation and imitation and helplessly look to the historical achievements in rapidly developing world.