Open AccessKnowledge and Knowing in Islam: A Comparative Study between Nursi and al-Attas
Author(s) -
Hamid Fahmy Zarkasyi
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
global journal al-thaqafah
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.104
H-Index - 6
eISSN - 2232-0482
pISSN - 2232-0474
DOI - 10.7187/gjat072018-3
Subject(s) - islam , meaning (existential) , epistemology , philosophy , conviction , naturalism , value (mathematics) , theology , religious studies , sociology , political science , law , machine learning , computer science
This article compares Bediuzzaman Said Nursi’s conception of knowledge and knowing with Syed Mohammad Naquib al-Attas’ epistemology and philosophy of science. These two prominent Muslim thinkers are worth our attention, given the impact that their thought have had on contemporary Muslim discourse and social movement in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and beyond. It is found that both Nursi and al-Attas share a common conviction that modern science is neither neutral nor value-free; it is dominated by theories and principles derived from secularistic and atheistic-naturalistic worldview. It comes to the conclusion that although Nursi and al-Attas both have the same concern, their thought do exhibit some differences with regard to the nature of knowledge and knowing, the meaning and object of knowledge as well as the process of knowing.