Wan Suhaimi .Wan Abdullah

This article presents a comparative survey of Ibn Sina and Abu al-Barakat's views on the problem of the origination of the soul and its transmigration (tanasukh) and contrasts their arguments and interpretations. The article identifies similarities and differences in the views of these two scholars, both of whom believed in and argued for the origination of the soul and rejected its transmigration, with particular focus on the way they differ in defining their views. Keywords: Ibn Sina; Abu al-Barakat al-Baghdadi; psychology; the origination of the soul; tanasukh, the transmigration of the soul; Kitab al-mu'tabar fi al-hikmah; al-Shifa'; al-Najat; al-Risalah al-'adhawiyyah fi al-ma'ad. Introduction The problem of the temporal origin of the human soul (huduth al-nafs) and its immortality after the death of the body (baqa' al-nafs ba'da fana' al-badan) is one of the many important issues pertaining to the nature of the human soul. Moreover, this problem overlaps other fundamental problems concerning the nature of creation, the reality of the God-soul relationship, and the nature of human knowledge. In his Kitab al-mu'tabar fi al-hikmah, Abu al-Barakat al-Baghdadi reex-amines the philosophy of the earliest thinkers on this problem, especially the Aristotelian point of view as expounded by Ibn Sina, and evaluates it before expressing his own views. The central question here is whether the soul is originated or eternal, and whether the notion of the transmigration of the soul promoted by those who believe in the eternity of the soul is valid. The origination of the human soul and the impossibility of its transmigration, according to Ibn Sina Ibn Sina's view on the origination of the human soul and the impossibility of its transmigration is stated clearly in his major works, especially in al-Shifa', al-Najat and al-Risalah al-'adhawiyyah fi al-ma'ad. He says that the human soul is "the first entelechy of a natural body possessing organs (kamal awwal li jism tabi'i 'ali) insofar as it acts by rational choice and rational deduction, and insofar as it perceives universals." (1) It is also "an immaterial substance independent of any material substratum" (jawhar qa'im bi dhatihi) (2) and it therefore is something 'spiritual' (ruhani), free from any material basis. (3) So, in this conception, the soul is an immaterial substance which is somehow connected actively to the body. In its relation to the body it plays the role of an agent for all actions and perceptive activities undertaken by the human being. This basic notion of the soul and its role in the body is commonly understood. However, when we try to think of the nature of the soul prior to the existence of the body, many difficult questions come to mind. Did the soul exist at all, prior to the existence of the body? If so, how could this universal soul have become individuated and play its role in separate bodies? What then separates each individual from another and makes them differ from each other in their respective individuality despite partaking of a common universal soul? These are among the questions often raised in considering and understanding the ontological history of soul. Ibn Sina believes that all these questions would be reasons enough for taking the stand that the soul cannot pre-exist the body, but in fact originated with the body. Ibn Sina, in his argument for the origination of the human soul, (4) stresses that the soul can neither be a single entity nor multiple entities before it exists in the body, and that, logically, something which is neither singular nor multiple is non-existent; therefore, the soul does not exist before the body. It is also impossible for the soul to be multiplied when it is attached to the bodies because an immaterial entity which is free from any bodily or materialistic elements is indivisible. Furthermore, it is absurd to think that the soul remains numerically one while attached to different bodies because such a phenomenon would imply that there is only one soul which is attached to various individual bodies. …

The element of justice or al-'adl in the context of Islamic critical thinking deals with the notion of justice in a thinking process which critically rationalizes the truth in a fair and objective manner with no irrelevant interference that can jeopardize a sound judgment. This Islamic axiological element is vital in technological decision making as it addresses the issues of religious values and ethics that are primarily set to fulfill the purpose of human life on earth. The main objective of this study was to examine and analyze the perception of Muslim engineering students in Malaysian higher education institutions towards the concept of al-'adl as an essential element of Islamic critical thinking. The study employed mixed methods approach that comprises data collection from the questionnaire survey and the interview responses. A total of 557 Muslim engineering undergraduates from six Malaysian universities participated in the study. The study generally indicated that Mus...

Critical thinking is a very important intellectual tool which enable us to consciously structure an argument, judge the credibility of a source, analyze assumptions, or make decisions in various contexts. Educators have shown a great interest in teaching critical thinking at all levels in which most of the concept of thinking is referring to the Western perspective. Islam, on the other hand, has established its very own strong foundation and framework of critical thinking from its first revelation. The Qur’ānic emphasis on critical thinking could be firmly observed through its pursuit of contemplation and good reasoning, objection to Taqlid and quest for the certainty and objectivity. As such, there is a significant difference between Islamic and modern critical thinking which is deeply rooted to the conceptual view of each vis-a-vis analytical theories. Both schools of thought are concerned with the same issues of critical thinking although there are some obvious differences, mainl...

Artikel ini yang merupakan satu dari kertas kerja yang dibentangkan di Simposium Antarabangsa "al-Qur'an Sebagai Teks" (Qur'an as Text) yang diadakan di Universiti Bonn pada 17-21 November 1993. Moto "al-Qur'an Sebagai Teks" dilontarkan sebagai skop perbincangan dan komentar. Ini berasaskan andaian yang mendakwa bahawa sesetengah pendekatan yang digunakan dalam mentafsir al-Qur'an sudah dianggap "lapuk". Pendekatan yang melihat al-Qur'an sebagai suatu teks, sebagaimana teks-teks lain, yang dengan demikian terpaksa tunduk kepada kaedah penilaian hermeneutik moden yang berasaskan metodologi sejarah kesusasteraan moden, linguistik dan estetika dikatakan sebagai suatu pendekatan terkini dan sesuai dalam memahami al-Qur'an. Artikel ini merupakan satu dari bentuk pendekatan pengkajian al-Qur'an sebagai teks di atas.

The rules of conduct for teachers (ādāb al-ʿālim) are among the important elements in the educational process. They are closely related to the efforts to realise quality education and effective teaching. This article presents five rules of conduct that should be practised by teachers as elaborated by Abū Ḥanīfah in his Waṣiyyah Abī Ḥanīfah li Abī Yūsuf, apart from providing an introduction to and a background of the  aforementioned  Waṣiyyah as his  educational treatise. This study is to introduce this great work on Islamic education to solve current  educational problems.

Pemikiran kritis merupakan elemen penting yang perlu diterapkan dalam kurikulum pengajian di semua peringkat. Ini penting bagi mempastikan pelajar memiliki pemikiran tahap tinggi yang diperlukan bagi menghadapi alaf baru. Kurikulum pengajian yang hanya sekadar menekankan proses pengajaran dan pembelajaran berbentuk fakta atau isi semasa semata-mata kurang relevan dalam konteks hari ini. Sebaliknya, relevansi dan fokus pengisian proses pengajaran dan pembelajaran perlu melampaui penguasaan kemahiran asas dan pengetahuan dengan mengembangkan kemahiran berfikir secara kritis dan kreatif. Penerapan pemikiran kritis perlu dilakukan di peringkat awal, iaitu alam persekolahan khususnya di peringkat Sekolah Menengah. Tambahan pula usaha untuk melahirkan pelajar yang serba boleh dan mampu berfikir secara kritis dan kreatif merupakan sebahagian daripada matlamat utama yang ingin dicapai oleh pihak kerajaan menerusi Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Menengah (KBSM). Pemikiran kritis yang ingin direa...

The problem of teaching and learning is a fundamental issue in human and nation development. Man without knowledge is valueless and knowledge without a clear concept in it's teaching and learning is impasse and fruitless. Therefore, a generic, accurate and contemporary explanation of the concept is needed in order to establish a right force and field for the development of knowledge. This paper attempts to elaborate an Islamic tradition and concept of teaching and learning as an alternative in solving the related problems. This basically will be based on an analysis of al-Zarnuji's Ta'lim al-Muta'allim Tariq al-Ta'allum where the current challenges facing the teachers and students are reconsidered. In general, the scope of this paper is focused on an exposition and re-evaluation of the Islamic concept of teaching and learning, especially as demonstrated by al-Zarnuji. It is hoped that it will propose a comprehensive interpretation on issues related to place and r...

The golden age of Islamic civilization reached its peak between 8 th century and 13 th century. Many treatises were written as a result of studies in various fields by Islamic scholars. This article will discuss a masterpiece by a grand scholar, al-Khwarizmi through his book al-Jabr wa al-Muqabalah. This article will show the divisions of content in the book, its writing style as well as sources of the book. The study also will be focusing on basic algebra introduced by him in the first part of the book. It covers mathematical terms frequently used in this book, the examples of the mathematical problems involved and their solutions shown by al-Khwarizmi. It is hopeful that this article will provide an opportunity to the readers, especially in Malaysia to learn something as a result of the history of Islamic civilization, will give additional value to the resources and materials available, thus facilitating the readers to understand the debates in this book to be discussed in a broad...

The purpose of education and the methods of teaching are important variables in the process of education. They are closely related to the effort to realize quality education and effective teaching. This article presents these two elements as treated by Abu Hanifah in his al-‘Alim wa al-Muta‘allim. The said text has been documented based on the dialogue between Abu Hanifah (al-‘Alim) and one of his disciples (al-Muta‘allim). This study will present an analysis on the purpose of education according to Abu Hanifah and his teaching methods as seen in this text.

Sudah yang menjadi fenomena biasa dalam sejarah manusia bahawa penyimpangan dan revolusi dari arus "perdana" sering menimbulkan reaksi yang kontroversi sehinggakan ada pepatah Arab yang mencatatkan bahawa "penyimpangan membawa kemasyhuran". Penyimpangan ini secara umumnya adalah relatif dan bukan suatu yang buruk secara mutlak. Persoalan tentang asas dan matlamat sesuatu "penyimpangan" yang dilancarkan biasanya akan menjadi penentu kejayaan dan kedudukan ideologi yang didokong serta individu-individu yang terlibat. Di samping itu, reaksi yang dikemukakan terhadap misi penyimpangan ini juga bertanggungjawab secara tidak langsung menyumbang kepada reputasi misi tersebut di mata masyarakat.Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd adalah nama yang tidak asing bagi mereka yang mengikuti perkembangan pemikiran Modenis Islam khususnya di Mesir. Semenjak penerbitan edisi pertama buku ini pada tahun 1992 oleh Dar al-Thaqafah al-Jadidah di Kaherah, dan semenjak beliau mengemukakan ka...

The concept of maqamat and ahwal is one of the most important sufism doctrine in Islam which played an efficient roles in the sufi's spiritual journey. It is still remain as an effective steps for the sufis to reach their spiritual destination. But is this, the spiritual need, is the only aspect that the concept worked, or there is a posibility, with such interpretation, to make it an effective method for non-spiritual journey or human development' This article is an attemption to answer this question and tries to propose some point of view about it.

Al-Nadwi in his speech entitled "The Place of Knowledge and Responsibilities of Those Who Acquire It" describes the concept of knowledge and the responsibilities of scholars in Islam. It tries to prove how the Islamic concept of knowledge and scholarship is important for the development of the human thought and modern sciences, especially in the modern world. This article is a translation of this speech preceded by a brief review on it.

Artikel ini merupakan suatu observasi awal terhadap pandangan dan tafsiran 'Abdullah al-Ansari al-Herawi, seorang tokoh sufi Hanbali terkenal berdasarkan karyanya Manazil al-Sa'irin, tentang konsep dan peringkat-peringkat tawhid. Ia juga cuba mengetengahkan persepsi sebenar terhadap tafsiran tersebut berpandukan komentar-komentar yang dikemukakan oleh golongan tokoh-tokoh sufi terkemudian. Artikel ini juga antara lain menonjolkan bagaimana salah faham dan silap tafsiran terhadap kata-kata dan ungkapan para sufi berlaku, yang seterusnya mendorong ke arah hukuman dan tanggapan yang salah terhadap keperibadian seseorang sufi.

This article presents a critical edition and Malay translation of the great work of Imam Abū Ḥanīfah on Islamic education entitled Waṣiyyah Abī Ḥanīfah li Ibnihi Ḥammād. It contains counsel and essential discussion about the rules of conduct for Muslim especially the students (ṭālib al-‘ilm). The main resources of this edition are four manuscripts from Suleymaniyye Kutuphansi, Istanbul and the Islamic University, Madinah. This study is intended to present this great work on Islamic education as a source and reference for current practice of Islamic education.

Introduction The strength and validity of all sciences, ideas, and even religious faiths depend essentially on the soundness of their proofs. Human beings will rationally accept and support scientific theories, philosophical notions, and religious beliefs so long as they clearly understand and realize the validity of the arguments. Any inconsistency occurring or discovered on any part of the related argument leads to at least a state of doubt and creates epistemological problems which may end in the rejection of such traditions. This paradigm explains the endless exploration and reinterpretation of various scientific, philosophical, and religious issues in human intellectual history. Consequently, when we talk about methods of proof and the validity of any specific argument, questions arise. Some of these are related to the very nature of the method while others are due basically to the claims made by various schools of thought that seek both to propose their own method and challenge the bases of others'. But, is there a single argument or method valid for all problems? Or are these assessments relative, depending on the topic of discussion as well as those who deal with it? All sound sciences require certainly sound proofs and arguments, and in order to reach such sound arguments, sound method or methods of proof and argument are essential. On the other hand, it is observed that certain sciences deal with similar topics, or at least that their ultimate goal is to reach the same reality and to solve the same problems, but with different approaches and from various backgrounds and tendencies. All these differences, if they could be placed properly in a broader system leading towards a comprehensive understanding of that particular topic or in reaching to that ultimate goal, should not be considered but as a partial and supportive element of the broader system. If this superstructure can be established, then every valid approach, field, and tendency can be seen as important and complementing elements of inquiry. Key to this understanding is the question of methods of proof and its significance in establishing truth. Al-Ghazali has much to offer on this question. Speaking of knowledge of God, its possibility, and the role of Kalam, al-Ghazali affirms that the dignity (sharf) of knowledge is due to the dignity of its subject. As God is the Highest and the Greatest to be known, knowledge of God is the highest and the noblest form of knowledge in Islam. He also emphasizes that this knowledge, though it is noble and perfect in its essence, does not deny the place of other sciences as its premises. In fact, these other sciences are among the prerequisites of knowledge of God. (1) Thus, all knowledge or science must lead towards reaching the ultimate reality of God, to the extent possible given human capabilities. (2) The potentialities of human knowledge are affirmed by Islam in its recognition of various registers and abilities, including external and internal senses, reason, intuition, and revelation. (3) Moreover, all knowledge must be established with certainty, (4) because only this high standard will provide basis for other certain knowledge. Only certain premises will lead to certain knowledge of God. Based on this overview, it is clear that methods of proof play an important role in assuring the validity of knowledge--something especially essential when dealing with knowledge of God. Muslim theologians, attentive to the importance of method, subjected any such method to intense scrutiny in the field of Kalam. Such debate may bear fruit in other fields as well: if certain methods are appropriate in discussion of the divinity, they may be appropriate also in other fields. This study deals with al-Ghazali's methods of proof based on his al-Iqtisad fil-I'tiqad, especially the fourth introduction of the book. It tries to demonstrate a form of method of proof proposed by al-Ghazali in the field of Kalam, a field of science that deals, among others, with knowledge of God and His Attributes based on human rational intellection. …

The rules of conduct for teachers (ādāb al-ʿālim) are among the important elements in the educational process. They are closely related to the efforts to realise quality education and effective teaching. This article presents five rules of conduct that should be practised by teachers as elaborated by Abū Ḥanīfah in his Waṣiyyah Abī Ḥanīfah li Abī Yūsuf, apart from providing an introduction to and a background of the aforementioned Waṣiyyah as his educational treatise. This study is to introduce this great work on Islamic education to solve current educational problems.

Al-Ghazālī mentions three methods of proof in his al-Iqtiṣād fil-Iʿtiqād, particularly in its fourth introduction. He summarized them basically from various methods which had been used or mentioned in the earlier work of Kalam. These three methods, according to al-Ghazālī, are clear, perceivable, and sufficient for people to acquire knowledge and to understand issues related to their faith, at least from the theological point of view. This article presents the methods together with an English translation of the related text from al-Iqtiṣād fil-Iʿtiqād. It also proposes that these methods could be widened in scope to apply to other fields of study.

This article presents a comparative survey of Ibn Sina and Abu al-Barakat’s views on the problem of the origination of the soul and its transmigration (tanasukh) and contrasts their arguments and interpretations. The article identifies similarities and differences in the views of these two scholars, both of whom believed in and argued for the origination of the soul and rejected its transmigration. However, they differed in the way they defended their views and, to some extant, their differences are fundamental