By Farah R
Edited by: Nur Qistina
October is known as an honorary month for academia. Each year, academia stands at the centre of the stage as scholars, students, and educational institutions unite to celebrate the pursuit of knowledge. As Muslims, this month has profoundly presented a special opportunity to reflect on the legacy of Muslim scholars who have shaped the civilisation throughout the decades of Islamic intellectual history.
In conjunction with this prominent annual event, an Islamic academic institution, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), has held a particular inaugural session with academic staff in conjunction with National Academia Day 2024. The event’s main highlight was the anticipated speech of the IIUM’s newly appointed Rector, Datuk Emeritus Professor Osman Bakar. In the roughly 2-hour session with the new IIUM rector, he underlined the role of Muslim academia in the 21st century while defining the identity of a 21st-century Islamic university. He also emphasises the role of Muslim academia from the tawhidic epistemology perspective, which navigates his inaugural speech into a deeper essence of Muslim academia pertaining to IIUM’s four main components: integration, internationalisation, islamisation, and comprehensive excellence.
The Islamisation and the Internalisation of IIUM was one of the central topics in the first half of his speech, philosophising the term Internalisation and relating it to IIUM’s core value not as an ordinary university but as an ‘ummatic’ university, a microcosm of the ummah. This statement is what makes IIUM different from any other international universities. While stating this, he also refers to his published article, ‘Defining the Core Identity of a 21st-Century Islamic University’ where the discussion was centred on the need for Islamic universities to integrate traditional Islamic knowledge with modern secular education effectively.
You can read more about the article here.
Rooted in tawhidic epistemology, the international Islamic institutions, particularly IIUM, aim to integrate knowledge with the unity of God (Tawhid), emphasising the pursuit of truth, justice, and a deep, inherent connection to the divine truth. Tawhid is not only a fundamental doctrine of Islam but also the blueprint of knowledge. In his inaugural lecture, Dr. Osman Bakar mentioned tawhidic epistemology and elaborated on it further. This tawhidic foundation is crucial to both scholars and students, guiding them in intellectual pursuits and in their broader understanding of life. Additionally, it includes the challenges faced by Muslim scholars and academicians in the modern world, where it’s more profound for Western and Muslim academia. Nonetheless, tawhidic epistemology is not only applicable to academia or scholars but also to humankind as a whole, where the hound of knowledge is needed.
The role of Muslim academia has always been grounded in several key responsibilities, each underscoring the values of truth, justice, and knowledge.
To pursue, establish, and defend the truths
Again, Islam, as the religion of truth, emphasises Muslims in the academic world today cannot be deviated and marginalised from it. Scholars and the educational institute community shall focus on the intellectual pursuit to establish the truth and to preserve “al-Haqq” as one of Allah SWT's names. This concept of truth should be embedded in our educational curricula by shaping an environment seeking and upholding righteous intellectual property.
To establish justice, especially in the domain of knowledge
Justice is a common principle practised in Islamic teachings and plays a crucial role in the academic sphere. According to him, today’s knowledge sphere is chaotic as there’s no presence of justice. He furthered the lecture by quoting Royal Professor Syed Naquib Al-Attas’, “There is no justice in the world unless we have epistemological justice.” Underscoring the value of Islamic universities, it is important for IIUM, especially to ensure knowledge is pursued and applied with integrity and fairness. Therefore, in order to achieve the genuine concept of justice, it must be accompanied by the concept of unity of knowledge to uphold justice in the world of ideas.
To advance the Muslim knowledge culture in the light of the Quranic teaching that God is the best human teacher (mu’allim)
In Islam, Allah swt is referred to as our ultimate Mu’allim (teacher). Allah swt is the one who teaches us of who we are, human nature, reality and more. Moreover, Allah swt sent down the Quran as our main bibliography in life. This goes hand in hand with nature, as it can be considered our second teacher. In the Malay tradition, for example, the proverb “sepandai-pandai tupai melompat akhirnya jatuh ke tanah juga” has drawn wisdom from nature to underline moral lessons and a reflection of divine wisdom bestowed upon us. Islamic universities such as IIUM serve as a bridge as they integrate academic learning with spiritual insights, fostering a culture of knowledge that is directly connected to the divine. Hence, aligned with its tagline: “culture of knowledge and virtue.”
Inheriting the Mission of the Prophets
As Muslims, it is our innate duty to play the essential role of inheritors of the Prophet’s mission. Muslim academics’ roles include imparting divine knowledge, promoting ethical guidance, and bringing humanity closer to their Creator. Islamic universities carry this light, encouraging students to envision their education as a means of carrying forward this mission with humility and responsibility.
The lecture continues on centralising the essential role of Muslim academia to deeper reflection. It is to champion tawhidic epistemology, which defines:
Man as a reflection of God in a total and integral manner: the unity of the human being
The identity of the religion of Islam: Islam as a tawhidic religion
The identity of the ummah: the ummah as a knowledge-based community
The identity of Islamic civilisation: Islamic civilisation as a knowledge-based civilisation
The core identity of the Islamic university–the essence of IIUM
Throughout the inaugural speech by the rector, the term ‘tawhidic epistemologies’ was repeated, signifying its importance. Hence, the clarity of the term has been sealed as:
“Tawhidic epistemology is the vision of knowledge that affirms the Divine Reality, the One and the Unique. It affirms the science of tawhid as the ultimate source and foundation of all knowledge and the best judge of truth and error. It negates all that is contrary to the principle and properties of tawhid. Tawhidic epistemology is the mother of all other epistemologies. Ultimately, Tawhidic epistemology is central to the identity of the Muslim ummah.”
In a comparison of Western academia and Islamic academia, it is the tawhidic epistemology that separates both of them. Efforts and actions to reinforce this epistemology must be practised in every kuliyyah that exists in IIUM, and of course, by inviting the Muslim community to reflect on a specific Quranic verse from Surah Ali-Imran, verse 18, in championing the concept. The rector in his lecture also reminded the audience that, as one of the international Islamic educational institutes, we ought to elevate the quality of our academy and scholarship, as it all depends on how close we are to implementing these roles. Also, we have to achieve beyond all of that being stated.
All in all, Tawhid is the most fundamental doctrine of Islam embodying the oneness of God and serving as Islam’s theory of ‘everything’. It can be regarded as the beginning and end of Islamic teachings, connecting the achievement of knowledge to the divine and anchoring all intellectual endeavours under the umbrella of unity. As Islamic institutions rapidly grow in the 21st century, they hold the responsibility of safeguarding this tawhidic vision, championing the approach to knowledge that integrates intellectual rigour and austerity accompanied by divine wisdom. It is on behalf of the upcoming generations of Muslims to seek, establish, and defend the truths that shape better humanity. As we reflect on National Academia Month, let us also commemorate the enduring legacy of Islamic scholarship and consider how we, too, can construct a knowledge culture that seeks to uplift humanity and bring us closer to divine wisdom.
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