A New Road Map: Tawhid in the 21st century
And your Allah is One Allah. There is no god but He, Most Gracious, Most Merciful (Q2:163).Archive for classification
Classification of Islamic Sciences
The classification of the Islamic sciences by al-Kindi, Ibn Sina, Amiri and Al-Farabi is very informative. It clarifies that traditionally, all knowledge of the time was Islamic. We often think that Islamic sciences are confined to Uloom al Maqasid, and Uloom al Wasael. However, we ignore the holistic nature of life, and therefore do not have an integrated approach towards sciences.
Sciences are a reflection of life, the needs of life, and the satiation of the curiosity of the human mind in some cases. What is clear in the Islamic sciences is that they had a purpose and an objective. They were heavily influenced by religion and the centrality of Allah and Tawhid in our lives. This premise is reflected in the categories and subcategories that they have.
This emic approach to the classification of the Islamic sciences is a testament to the richness of the legacy, and also a reason why those generations had such intellectual prowess. They were able to impact the future generations of Muslims, as well as the thinkers of the rest of the world.
This is in direct contrast to is the etic approach, derived from a non-theistic point of view. It creates arbitrary distinctions and categories in the classification of all sciences, which is especially obvious in the social sciences. What is needed is a revival of Islam. Reform is needed of all Muslims, regardless of where they live- this movement would be to intellectually awaken them, and revive their senses towards Islam. This can only be done through a deeper understanding of the Quran, and by the confidence that we can get from the strength of our legacy.
