Our Creed
existence within the confines of the
human mind.
Knowledge of Allah
To put knowledge in perspective, it
is important to know the knowledge
of our Creator. His knowledge is an
essential part of Him; it is uncreated
and has existed in completion preeternally,
and without the constraints
of time. His knowledge encompasses
all things in every detail including all
that exists, will exist, or could have
existed. He is, in fact, the source
of all knowledge. “It is Allah who
created seven heavens and a similar
number of earths. His command
descends throughout them; so you
should realize that He has power over
all things and that His knowledge
encompasses everything” (Quran
65:12).
Knowledge of Creation
In contrast, the knowledge of creation
is not essential to its being and is itself
a creation. For example, humans are
born in a state without knowledge
and are entirely dependent on others
to feed and teach them. Allah says,
“It is Allah who brought you out
of your mothers’ wombs knowing
nothing, and gave you hearing and
sight and minds, so that you might be
thankful” (16:78). We begin in a state
of ignorance. Knowledge is acquired
thereafter according to our abilities
and exposure. In other words, human
knowledge is something gained
(iktisabi) through certain means and
sources (asbab). The rest of this article
will serve as an introduction to the
means of gaining knowledge.
The importance of knowledge is
widely appreciated, but knowledge
itself is rarely examined.
Islamic Epistemology
Epistemology is the study of how
we know what we know. Without
epistemology, you have no systematic
way of processing knowledge. Most of
us have not been taught how to think.
We merely imitate our surroundings.
Our scholars were not unanimous in
how to approach this delicate topic,
but we will presently adopt the safest
approach outlined by many of the
earlier scholars including Imam Abu
Hafs al-Nasafi (d. 537/1142) in his al-
`Aqa’id al-Nasafīyya as our guide. All
knowledge we acquire can be placed
in three categories:
1. If knowledge is self-acquired
without reasoning or use of the
intellect, it is from the five senses
(al-hawas al-zahira).
2. If the knowledge is self-acquired
using the intellect without the
senses, it is from the sound
intellect (al-`aql al-salim).
3. If the knowledge arrives from
another, it is a true narration (alkhabar
al-sadiq).
Though other scholars have cited
other sources to knowledge and
elaborated into very intangible
concepts, limiting to these three will
prove to be most practical. As Imam
al-Sabuni wrote, “The acquisition of
knowledge through these means is
clearly perceptible to anyone just and
reasonable” (al-Bidayah; p. 31).
The Unimpaired Senses
The ayah quoted above suggests that
we enter this world from the womb of
our mothers without any knowledge.
The first rays of knowledge that
enlighten us come from interaction
of the senses with the external
surroundings. Thus, the first source
of human knowledge, as outlined by
Imam al-Nasafi, is the five unimpaired
senses, i.e. hearing, sight, smell, taste,
and touch (the term ‘unimpaired’ is
to exclude defective senses such as
poor hearing, poor eyesight, colorblindness,
paresthesia, and so on).
When the senses are unimpaired,
they provide an immediate source of
knowledge (i.e. little to no recourse
to reasoning is required) and an
extraordinary amount of constant
information. One only needs to
plug one’s ears or close one’s eyes
to realize the indispensability of the
senses for gathering information and
how we practically rely upon them in
all our affairs. We can also enhance
their capabilities with instruments
like microphones and telescopes.
Note that this category is not
exclusive to humans. Animals, insects,
and even plants possess sensory
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