Gender Bias continued from page 12
very well the hadith that states that
whoever hides knowledge will be
responsible.
Of course there is room for
differences of opinions and no one
is infallible. And yes, some rulings
are subject to circumstances and can
change according to the times. We
definitely need more research and
reflection on women issues especially
in light of modern issues, and we
need women scholars in that field. But
we must keep in mind that this work
requires immense knowledge and
deep understanding of the various
Islamic sciences. To pass judgments
and rulings requires a thorough
knowledge in the science of forming
judgments and rulings - a science that
constitutes the most fundamental
structural framework of Islam, a
science that transcends subset issues
of gender and circumstance.
In our move forward whatever steps
are taken should be taken with a
positive and respectful attitude
towards the scholars of the past.
We need to build upon our rich
tradition, not break away from it. If
we start our journey by dismissing
everything of the past, we have in
essence cut ourselves off from the
tradition of scholars, cut ourselves off
from the chain which links us to the
inheritance of the prophets.
to understand the world around us.
Daily, we survey our surroundings
with our senses (e.g., the contents of
the room we are in). We infer what
we cannot sense with our intellect
(e.g., the continual existence of what
is outside of the room). What we
cannot sense nor infer, we take from
a narrator(s) (e.g., the existence of
North Korea assuming the reader has
not been to North Korea). Another
example from the physical sciences
is that I may observe leaves fall with
my eyes. I reason that there is a force
(i.e., gravity) that causes things to
fall in my area, and perhaps, such a
force also exists elsewhere. Narrations
from first-hand witnesses inform me
such a force also exists in every place
humanity has visited or observed.
In religious matters, our approach
is no different. As discussed in the
previous article, our most important
purpose is to recognize our Creator.
The unimpaired senses prompt us
with what they perceive. The sound
intellect provides rational proofs.
The true narration is the revelation
(wahi) from Allah to guide us where
the intellect fails. We can only gain
knowledge of our objective purpose
and morality by revelation from the
source of all knowledge, our Creator.
We know with certainty that this
revelation is traced to the Prophet
Muhammad a as it has reached us
through mass transmission. The
astute reader will now realize that the
Deen rests entirely on the shoulders
of a single, true transmitter from
Allah. He a was one aided by many
miracles, which prove whatever
he narrated to us must be true by
virtue of divine confirmation of his
prophethood.
This relatively short article cannot
do justice to this critical discussion.
Instead, the reader should understand
that all information is not the same.
Each source of knowledge discussed
above adds a layer of knowledge
the other cannot provide. The
strongest source may necessitate
absolute knowledge (yaqini), which
demands conviction and action while
anything less gives presumptive
information (zanni), information that
encourages but does not necessitate
belief and action. For example, we
know with certainty from masstransmitted
narrations that George
Washington was the first president.
We know with less certainty from
single transmitted narrations that
he was born on February 22nd. And
we know his statement, “I cannot
tell a lie,” after chopping down the
cherry tree is likely untrue since it
is untraceable to him. Similarly, we
know with certainty that the Qur’an
is from Allah and mass-transmitted
hadith are from the Prophet a, and
we know with deduced certainty that
he was the messenger of Allah. Then,
singular-transmitted hadith will
provide varying levels of certainty
depending on their reliability in text
(matn), individual narrators (rijal), and
chain (sanad) according to the science
of principles of hadith.
It should now be clear to the reader
that Muslims do not approach
knowledge with a split mind, one part
for the religious and the other for the
secular. We approach all knowledge
with one epistemology. This makes
sense as the source of all knowledge
is also one. “If it had been from
anyone other than Allah, they would
have found much inconsistency in it”
(4:82). And only Allah knows best.
Knowledge & Knowing continued from page 17
30 January - February 2020 | AL-MADINAH