چکیده:
Critiquing the Modern Western Theory
of Knowledge and Insights into
a Qur’anic Epistemology
Farhan Mujahid Chak
Abstract
This article compares and contrasts a western post-Enlightenment
theory of knowledge with a Qur’anic epistemology. It first ana-
lyzes the development of post-Enlightenment epistemology,
which resulted in the disappearance of established meaning and
the implanting of doubt. Thereafter, western epistemology began
to deal with such questions as “What can [know?” and “How can
I distinguish between those things that I am justified in believing
over those things that I am not justified in believing?” Eventually,
this developed into the two dominant and diverging paths that per-
sist until today: “We might be able to know the truth” (plausibility)
or “We are unable to know anything” (denial).
What makes this so important is its eventual influence upon the
Muslim world with the advent of colonialism, European preemi-
nence, and globalization. That influence, it is argued, has been
disastrous because of its ability to uproot the indigenous Islamic
epistemic tradition. Therefore this article, by focusing on various
Qur’anic verses, shares insights for an alternative epistemology
that would begin to rectify this dissonance. It does so by dis-
cussing the features of a Qur’anic epistemology, one that begins
with the affirmation or certainty of “God knowing” with the po-
tential for “human knowing. ” In other words, it establishes an op-
timistic attitude toward “true” knowledge being possible (viz. , “I”
may be wrong, although God knows) and the potentiality of cer-
tainty being ever-present
خلاصه ماشینی:
Introduction A comprehension of epistemology, also known as a theory of knowledge, is essential for understanding how a particular civilization inculcates learning, establishes a premise that governs the justification of belief, and thereby makes valid knowledge claims.
But the Qur’an is the first point of reference, as a result of its being understood as the infallible Word of God. It informs the reader with a specific insight into “What can we know?” “What are the necessary and sufficient conditions to know?” and “How does one distinguish between true knowledge and false knowl- edge?” It is the guide for what amounts to knowledge and the yardstick used to assess justified belief.
Indeed, the Qur’an establishes that God has given humans the capacity to potentially know through their own efforts, relying on sensory or mental faculties, in- cluding the heart, mind, and body.
Similarly, once they accept the possibility of truth in the Qur’anic text, the readers proceed with that certainty (not in their own selves) to examine their justification of belief by using both their mental and sensory faculties.
A Qur’anic epistemology begins with the affirmation of the certainty of knowing founded on a scriptural tradition that is self-transcending and God- centric.
This is so because the source and origins of knowledge begin with God and the process of obtaining it is initiated by the human being (the agent responsible for reading, learning, and acting) constantly returning to the Qur’anic text for guidance.