By Amiira Zuha, Nurul Nabihah, Dhiya Damia
Islamization of knowledge (IoK) refers to integrating the Islamic worldview into various branches of contemporary knowledge and academic disciplines. It is a response towards the Westernization or secularization of knowledge that began to put a divide between revealed and acquired knowledge. Consequently, Islamization of knowledge mainly concerns Western secular knowledge. IoK proves to be severely needed, especially today, since contemporary knowledge is less neutral than it claims to be. Most are imbued with Eurocentric values and thus do not apply to all. Moreover, separating knowledge from a spiritual aspect has deprived knowledge from being universal and comprehensive. Therefore, IoK aims to inject into knowledge the spiritual aspect it has been deprived of by bringing back the paradigm of Tawhid as its central focus. Its principle, which is the search for truth, is needed to cleanse knowledge from dangerous secularist and western values that pose a threat not only to Muslims but humanity. There are varying stances for and against this epistemological stance or approach – IoK - but the arguments put forth by contemporary scholars such as Ismail Raji Al-Faruqi, Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas, and Abdul Hamid AbuSulayman have secured the place of IoK as a serious academic approach. However, some would still raise the question about the possibility of Islamizing history as a science.
To answer this question, one must realize first that history is a well-established field of human sciences that systematically studies past events through established methods and evidence analysis. Then one might wonder, how can one Islamize such a field? The response lies in realizing that all sciences, history included, are not value-free and that Western thought and values dominate the approaches, interests, and funding of historical studies. One can read Edward Said’s Orientalism (1978) to find countless evidence of the bias of historical Western depictions of other nations and races. By studying history through IoK, the history of Islam can be presented in a positive light that is free from prejudices.
Next, the Islamization of history as a science is possible because the Islamization of knowledge in the first place did not distinguish between revealed and acquired knowledge. A unity between both makes the IoK comprehensive and all-encompassing. Islamizing history as a science would mean merging both revealed and acquired knowledge, the Quran and scientific research, together in interpreting and understanding history. Such a method would provide a focused scope when studying history as revealed knowledge, which is perfected and unchanged, further creating a definite guideline when researching for the truth that is further guided by acquired knowledge. In this case, the Islamization of history as a science can be done by comparing evidence from the Quran and contemporary research. It is relevant to peruse the Quran as a source in Islamizing history as a science because it further proves itself as a truth as it contains historical evidence found in no other books or sources. For example, it was proven that the Quran provides the most accurate representation of the Pharaoh and his advisor, Haman, compared to historical evidence from Western researchers. It is also emphasized that the Quran did not miss even one criterion when describing the Pharaoh's personality, actions, and demise. Other evidence is the title given to kings during Prophet Yusuf and Musa's times differed; in Yusuf's A.S time, the king was called Malik, which means King, while in Musa's A.S time, the king was called Fir'aun, which is Pharaoh. Therefore, the Islamization of history as a science is possible as it leads to a truthful and comprehensive history.
To add, accepting the Islamization of Knowledge into the study of history as a science also means a fresh perspective can be injected into studying history. This perspective is certainly not colonial or ethnocentric, as Islam embraces diversity and plurality, given the rich cultures of Muslims. Approaching history based on Tawhid can lead to new understandings of its events. Academia has always advocated or accepted numerous historical approaches, such as the feminist or Marxist approaches. An approach based on IoK should equally be valid and respected. There are various approaches to analyzing history nowadays when researchers want to build their research. However, worldview remains the main approach to finding the research outcomes. For example, when analyzing the hadith, Muslims use the historical method like Orientalists or materialists do. However, there are differences between the Islamic and Orientalist approaches according to their foundation and frame of reference. The importance of having a method for the Islamic sciences to address concerns is to maintain the original utterances of the Prophet and protect his words from any chances of manipulation. Thus, through the quality methodology of preserving the chains of isnad, it becomes a pioneer for most Muslim scholars to develop the science of hadith terminology. The indication of how the Islamization of history as a science is possible can be examined through the strict rules that were developed to have the most narrator that is reliable in the chain of transmission, and this preserved strict rules for the isnad, later on, becomes the primary reference for some Muslim scholars for their methodology books. For example, Ibn Abi Hatim wrote Contestation and Validation, a book discussing the science of men, which is the study of the personal moral characteristic history of men who had transmitted during the Prophet’s time. Besides that, Al-Dhahabi had also written two versions of the Measure of Moderation in the Critique of Men. Thus, through the application of the scientific method found through the elements of preserving the Prophetic hadith, most of these books aforementioned highlighted the method of clarifying the original life of the Prophet, besides containing a general procedure for all sciences, especially historiography such as what has been portrayed in Ibn Khaldun’s Muqaddimah. In the preface of Ibn Khaldun’s Muqaddimah, several guidelines were mentioned regarding systematic historical writing, and the rules he sets for system guidelines of historic writing bring about the list of errors that he managed to doing in other historians. To conclude, preserving hadith and its application to later studies of general methodology on clarifying historiography denotes that the Islamization of history as a science is possible.
Lastly, the Islamization of knowledge can be integrated by re-establishing modern history into the concept of tawhid since tawhid is the foundation to solidify history as a science from an Islamic approach. History generally deals with different interpretations of human experiences, making it a vulnerable subject to be undermined by Western civilization as they dominate history with their claimants. For example, around the 14th century, Muslim astronomer Nasir al-Din al-Tusi made a significant contribution to astronomy by reforming Ptolemy’s theory on cosmology. Al-Tusi’s reformed theory proposed that the earth rotates on its axis while the planets orbit the sun, and this theory has become the basis of cosmology until the next 500 years. Al-Tusi believes that the study of astronomy could increase one’s faith in the oneness of God as it aims to discover the creations of God. However, due to the Western invasion, the reformed ‘Ptolemaic theory’ was overturned, particularly by Nicolaus Copernicus, a Catholic polymath who is said to propose similar ideas to Muslim astronomers in his early writings. Therefore, it is essential to reevaluate modern history and incorporate tawhid in the interpretation of history, for it can reveal where the knowledge originated at once, bridging the gap between religious and secular knowledge. Moreover, The concept of tawhid can provide a holistic framework that incorporates Islamic principles in the aspect of history by recognizing the root of specific theories, which will encourage people to pursue a better understanding of Islamic perspectives and heritage.
To conclude, Muslims should take the lead in preserving our history through the islamisation of knowledge as it can be the foundation of establishing our modern identity. This is not to mention that our Islamic teachings are based on historical traditions and evidence. Thus, understanding history as a field and solidifying its Islamic approach only strengthens our understanding and appreciation of Islam.
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