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Science and the Muslim Ummah 1 - Al-Shia The Scientific and Cultural Website of Shia belief Science and the Muslim Ummah 1 2021-06-24 480 Views Knowledge , Muslim Ummah , Islamic Sciences One of the distinctive features of Islam is its emphasis on knowledge (science). The Qur’an and the Islamic tradition (Sunnah) invite Muslims to seek and acquire knowledge and wisdom and to hold men of knowledge in high esteem.

Contents Islamic Sciences in Al-Ghazzali’s Perspective Al-Kashani’s Perspective Mulla Sadra’s Perspective Sciences whose Knowledge is Wajib Kifa’i Group of Sciences and their Scope Some of the Quranic verses and relevant traditions will be mentioned in the course of our discussion.

At the outset, we may recall a famous hadith of the Holy Prophet (PBUHH) that has come down through various sources; it says: “Acquisition of knowledge is incum­bent on every Muslim.” (1) This tradition brought up the discussion as to what kind of knowledge a Muslim should necessarily acquire. An issue around which various opinions were offered in the past. Islamic Sciences in Al-Ghazzali’s Perspective Abu Hamid Al-Ghazzali (died A.D.

1111), in his famous book titled “Ihya `ulum al-din” (The Revival of Religious Sciences), mentions that he had come across twenty different answers to the above question. (2) The theologians considered that learning Islamic theology (kalam) was an obligation, while the jurisprudents (fuqaha’) thought that Islamic juris­prudence (fiqh) was implied in this Prophetic tradition.

Al-Ghazzali himself favoured the view that the knowledge whose acquisition is a religious obligation is limited to what one must know for correct per­formance of the obligatory acts within the framework of the Islamic Shari’ah. (3) For instance, one whose occupation is animal husbandry should acquaint himself with the rules concerning zakat.

If one were a merchant doing business in a usurious environment, he ought to be aware of the religious injunction against usury so as to be able to effectively avoid it. Al-Ghazzali then proceeds to discuss sciences whose knowledge is wajib kifa’i (4) (something which is obligatory for the whole society as long as the duty for the fulfilment of a social need exists, but as soon as the duty is shouldered by enough individuals, others are automatically relieved of the obligation).

Subsequently, he classifies all knowledge into “religious” and “non-religious” sciences.