Meaning and Characteristics of the Islamic and other Worldviews
The General Definition of Worldview:
It is a general concept that applies to the man’s view of his basic metaphysical and cosmological questions.
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy that seeks to explain the nature of being or reality. It is a study of the ultimate nature of Reality, and the nature of the whole of existence, i.e., of anything that exists.
Does God exist? How and why does God create man and the universe? What is His function in relation to man and the universe? What is right and wrong? What is freedom and freewill? Why there is death and suffering?
Cosmology is a branch of philosophy and science that deals with the study of the universe as a whole.
From where does the whole universe come? Is it only moving and changing as a physical entity? What is the final fate of the whole universe?
These questions, in general, can be divided into five categories: who, why, what, how, and when.
In other words, worldview is a collection of systematic answers which people provide to answer the ultimate questions regarding God, man, life and the whole of creation.
Because nations and people are from different religions, races, and cultures, their answer and understanding of these questions are different. Therefore, we have many perceptions and worldviews.
The Definition of Worldview from the Western Perspective:
Worldview is a Western term, coined by Western philosophers.
In the Western philosophy, they used the German word weltanschauung, which literally means worldview, or a comprehensive conception of the universe and of human life.
There are various definitions as various as the philosophers themselves:
We discussed the Western conception of the worldview first since we have adopted many of the Western perspectives and lifestyles. What we would like to know is that if there are any similarities and the definitely there are differences which only shows that the Islamic worldview is more superior.
What we have adopted from the Western world:
First, generally in Islam, knowledge is divided into two kinds:
The knowledge must be able to transform or lead the person who received it to become a true servant (‘abd) of Allah SWT. The sources of this real knowledge are our al-Qur’an and the Sunnah of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAW), and all the different branches of knowledge that are derived from these two main sources.
These are all the other kinds of knowledge that do not originate from these two main sources of Islamic Tradition, and have no direct impact in transforming a person to become a true servant (‘abd) of Allah SWT.
We are more concern of seeking the second kind of knowledge, especially scientific knowledge, as if science can solve all of our problems.
Second, secularism: Secularization is defined as the deliverance of man “first from religious and then from metaphysical control over his reason and his language.”
The term secular comes from the Latin word saeculum, which means ‘this age’ or ‘the present time’, and this age or the present time refers to events in this world; hence, it also means ‘contemporary events’.
Thus in secularization, all actions of man are relative to that particular time period, all values become relative. Goodness and badness have no sacred values. There is less sense of accountability, since accountability has now become relative.
Third, a sense of inferiority of one’s own religion of Islam.
Islam is being assaulted not just from the Western world but also from within the Islamic countries. The Western world, with its domination of science and technology and the control of mass media, have proven to be superior in disseminating their Western values and one-sided portrayal of the negative actions done by some Muslims.
The main differences between the Western worldview and the Islamic worldview:
Some of the characteristics of a worldview:
Types of Worldview:
Scientific worldview: Scientific knowledge is the prime source of true knowledge. Only in science, there is certitude of knowledge since only knowledge of objects that is immediate to our senses can be quantified and measured. This is in contrast with metaphysical subjects, the latter of which, in science, cannot be measured and quantified. The source of scientific worldview is experimentation and exploration.
Philosophical worldview: There are many kinds of philosophies as varied as the philosophers themselves. In general, philosophy is a human intellectual endeavor to discover a comprehensive theory and logically analyze the principles underlying existence, human conduct, thought, knowledge, and the nature of the universe. Compare to scientific worldview, philosophical worldview is more viable and comprehensive since it tries to answer all aspects of human life and the universe. The source of philosophical worldview is human reasoning and intuition.
Religious worldview: Compare to philosophical worldview, religious worldview derives its sources, other than human reasoning and intuition, from a transcendental revelation. All religions share a common belief of an Ultimate Creator and there is an absolute good and bad. Compare to philosophical worldview, which is more relative towards each philosopher, religious worldview gives sanctity towards its belief system and practices, and covers not only the intellectual aspects of man, but also his actions and spiritual development.
Category here doesn’t mean that there are strict boundaries between these types; rather it overlaps each other. Islamic worldview, for instance, considered to be religious, philosophical and scientific as well
The Definition of the Islamic Worldview:
The worldview of Islam derives its sources from the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW), and the other various kinds of knowledge that are derived from these two main sources.
According to Prof. al-Attas, “what is meant by ‘worldview’, according to the perspective of Islam, is the vision of reality and truth that appears before our mind’s eye revealing what existence is all about; for it is the world of existence in its totality that Islam is projecting. Thus by ‘worldview’ we must mean ru’yat al-islam li al-wujud (رؤية الاسلام للوجود )”.
Ru’yat comes from the verb رأى , which means to see, to observe, to think, to believe, to consider, to contemplate.
The reality or haqiqah is the truth or haqq, and the reality encompasses everything that exists, including the visible world and the invisible world, the world that exists now, al-dunya, and the world that will come later, al-akhirah.
The dunya-aspect must be related in a profound and inseparable way to the akhirah-aspect, and in which the akhirah-aspect has ultimate and final significance. The dunya-aspect is seen as a preparation for the akhirah-aspect.
Prof. al-Attas also mentioned further that “the Islamic vision of reality and truth, which is a metaphysical survey of the visible as well as the invisible worlds including the perspective of life as a whole, is not a worldview that is formed merely by the gathering together of various cultural objects, values and phenomena into artificial coherence. Nor is it one that is formed gradually through a historical process of philosophical speculation and scientific discovery, which must of necessity be left vague and open-ended for future change and alteration in line with paradigms that change in correspondence with changing circumstances.”
Islam means submission to the one and only God. In other words, it is a submission of the whole existence of man, in his heart, and in his actions, in accordance to this all encompassing worldview.
Objectives of Islamic Worldview:
The Fundamental Elements of the Islamic Worldview:
Tawhid is the central element in the Islamic worldview. Literally it means a unity of God, that there is no other gods except Allah SWT alone.
It is a total submission of the whole existence of man to the one and only God, since only He has the right in existence, while the existence of other beings is only relative to His Existence.
A submission that demands a complete submission in the heart, in the tongue and in the actions of man.
A man’s life, all his actions and at very moment until his last breath, is submitting to the Divine Will.
Hence it is due to this relationship, between the Creator and all other beings, whom exist only to serve Him, that Allah SWT sets for us what are the things that we should believe in (aqidah), what are the right actions that should be performed (ibadah, muamalat and akhlaq), and all these should be performed in the most excellence and perfect manner (ihsan).
That which constitutes our belief system are these important elements:
Main characteristics of Islamic worldview:
Islam is primal. Islam is the one and only true religion that have ever existed. It is al-Din al-Hanif, and Allah SWT has sent down 124, 000 Prophets and 25 Messengers, whom all has been revealed to them the same basic teachings and principles of Islam.
Islam is final. Islam as a religion that we know it today is the last revealed religion, and it was revealed to our beloved Prophet Muhammad SAW.
Islam is the middle path. It is a religion that although the akhirah-aspect is more important than the dunya-aspect, the dunya should not be neglected, and involving oneself in the dunya, is also considered as part of the preparation for the akhirah-aspect.
Islam is the natural religion. It is in our nature (fitrah) to submit to the one and only God. “When thy Lord drew forth from the children of Adam, from their loins, their descendants and made them testify concerning themselves, [saying] Am I not your Lord? Yes! We do testify. This, lest you should say on the Day of Judgement. Of this we were never mindful” (7:172).
Islam is perfect. “……This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed my favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion,” (5:3).
The General Definition of Worldview:
It is a general concept that applies to the man’s view of his basic metaphysical and cosmological questions.
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy that seeks to explain the nature of being or reality. It is a study of the ultimate nature of Reality, and the nature of the whole of existence, i.e., of anything that exists.
Does God exist? How and why does God create man and the universe? What is His function in relation to man and the universe? What is right and wrong? What is freedom and freewill? Why there is death and suffering?
Cosmology is a branch of philosophy and science that deals with the study of the universe as a whole.
From where does the whole universe come? Is it only moving and changing as a physical entity? What is the final fate of the whole universe?
These questions, in general, can be divided into five categories: who, why, what, how, and when.
In other words, worldview is a collection of systematic answers which people provide to answer the ultimate questions regarding God, man, life and the whole of creation.
Because nations and people are from different religions, races, and cultures, their answer and understanding of these questions are different. Therefore, we have many perceptions and worldviews.
The Definition of Worldview from the Western Perspective:
Worldview is a Western term, coined by Western philosophers.
In the Western philosophy, they used the German word weltanschauung, which literally means worldview, or a comprehensive conception of the universe and of human life.
There are various definitions as various as the philosophers themselves:
- World-intuition in the sense of contemplation of the world given to the senses.
- A metaphysical view of the world regarding a conception of life and the universe.
- It is a contemplation of the world and a view of life.
- It is an individual vision or perspective of reality.
We discussed the Western conception of the worldview first since we have adopted many of the Western perspectives and lifestyles. What we would like to know is that if there are any similarities and the definitely there are differences which only shows that the Islamic worldview is more superior.
What we have adopted from the Western world:
First, generally in Islam, knowledge is divided into two kinds:
- Knowledge as the Real Knowledge.
The knowledge must be able to transform or lead the person who received it to become a true servant (‘abd) of Allah SWT. The sources of this real knowledge are our al-Qur’an and the Sunnah of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAW), and all the different branches of knowledge that are derived from these two main sources.
- Knowledge as Information.
These are all the other kinds of knowledge that do not originate from these two main sources of Islamic Tradition, and have no direct impact in transforming a person to become a true servant (‘abd) of Allah SWT.
We are more concern of seeking the second kind of knowledge, especially scientific knowledge, as if science can solve all of our problems.
Second, secularism: Secularization is defined as the deliverance of man “first from religious and then from metaphysical control over his reason and his language.”
The term secular comes from the Latin word saeculum, which means ‘this age’ or ‘the present time’, and this age or the present time refers to events in this world; hence, it also means ‘contemporary events’.
Thus in secularization, all actions of man are relative to that particular time period, all values become relative. Goodness and badness have no sacred values. There is less sense of accountability, since accountability has now become relative.
Third, a sense of inferiority of one’s own religion of Islam.
Islam is being assaulted not just from the Western world but also from within the Islamic countries. The Western world, with its domination of science and technology and the control of mass media, have proven to be superior in disseminating their Western values and one-sided portrayal of the negative actions done by some Muslims.
The main differences between the Western worldview and the Islamic worldview:
- Most of the western definitions of worldview rely more on our physical reality and experience. They don’t give much consideration to the issues related to the unseen world and the hereafter.
- Most of the western definitions of worldview consider it as an assumption or a personal insight, or a product of a certain culture. This is not true from an Islamic perspective since in Islam, we don’t consider our religion as an assumption or a personal insight, but it is the truth which Allah SWT has revealed through His Messenger, the Prophet Muhammad SAW.
Some of the characteristics of a worldview:
- Capable to answer the basic cosmological and metaphysical questions that relevant to the universe and the human life as a whole, and not only to some certain parts of life.
- Provides a well-grounded, reliable, and eternally valid comprehension, not a provisional (muaqqat) and transient (za’il) one.
- Capable to provide theoretical and intellectual foundations of metaphysical and cosmological truths, not only purely practical and technical values.
- Has the power to sanctify (qudsyyah) human aims, values and actions. In other words, it gives meaning to life.
- Promotes commitment, responsibility, enthusiasm and aspiration.
- Capable to provide the intellectual, practical, and spiritual foundations on which religious practices, customs, and schools of thought, jurisprudences, and philosophies are established.
Types of Worldview:
Scientific worldview: Scientific knowledge is the prime source of true knowledge. Only in science, there is certitude of knowledge since only knowledge of objects that is immediate to our senses can be quantified and measured. This is in contrast with metaphysical subjects, the latter of which, in science, cannot be measured and quantified. The source of scientific worldview is experimentation and exploration.
Philosophical worldview: There are many kinds of philosophies as varied as the philosophers themselves. In general, philosophy is a human intellectual endeavor to discover a comprehensive theory and logically analyze the principles underlying existence, human conduct, thought, knowledge, and the nature of the universe. Compare to scientific worldview, philosophical worldview is more viable and comprehensive since it tries to answer all aspects of human life and the universe. The source of philosophical worldview is human reasoning and intuition.
Religious worldview: Compare to philosophical worldview, religious worldview derives its sources, other than human reasoning and intuition, from a transcendental revelation. All religions share a common belief of an Ultimate Creator and there is an absolute good and bad. Compare to philosophical worldview, which is more relative towards each philosopher, religious worldview gives sanctity towards its belief system and practices, and covers not only the intellectual aspects of man, but also his actions and spiritual development.
Category here doesn’t mean that there are strict boundaries between these types; rather it overlaps each other. Islamic worldview, for instance, considered to be religious, philosophical and scientific as well
The Definition of the Islamic Worldview:
The worldview of Islam derives its sources from the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW), and the other various kinds of knowledge that are derived from these two main sources.
According to Prof. al-Attas, “what is meant by ‘worldview’, according to the perspective of Islam, is the vision of reality and truth that appears before our mind’s eye revealing what existence is all about; for it is the world of existence in its totality that Islam is projecting. Thus by ‘worldview’ we must mean ru’yat al-islam li al-wujud (رؤية الاسلام للوجود )”.
Ru’yat comes from the verb رأى , which means to see, to observe, to think, to believe, to consider, to contemplate.
The reality or haqiqah is the truth or haqq, and the reality encompasses everything that exists, including the visible world and the invisible world, the world that exists now, al-dunya, and the world that will come later, al-akhirah.
The dunya-aspect must be related in a profound and inseparable way to the akhirah-aspect, and in which the akhirah-aspect has ultimate and final significance. The dunya-aspect is seen as a preparation for the akhirah-aspect.
Prof. al-Attas also mentioned further that “the Islamic vision of reality and truth, which is a metaphysical survey of the visible as well as the invisible worlds including the perspective of life as a whole, is not a worldview that is formed merely by the gathering together of various cultural objects, values and phenomena into artificial coherence. Nor is it one that is formed gradually through a historical process of philosophical speculation and scientific discovery, which must of necessity be left vague and open-ended for future change and alteration in line with paradigms that change in correspondence with changing circumstances.”
Islam means submission to the one and only God. In other words, it is a submission of the whole existence of man, in his heart, and in his actions, in accordance to this all encompassing worldview.
Objectives of Islamic Worldview:
- To teach about the only One God, Allah SWT, and His blessed messenger, the Prophet Muhammad SAW.
- To provide evidence on the existence of God and His attributes, the existence of the visible and the invisible world, the existence of the hereafter, the relevance of His revelation and messengers, the nature of man and the universe, and etc, that is included in the study of the aqidah of Islam.
- To teach people on how to worship the One True God; this comes under the domain of ibadah so that we would become the true ‘abd of Allah SWT.
- To teach people the way and method on how to achieve the mean values of Islam which cover all actions of human being; this is included in the study of mu’amalat.
- To teach people to lead a virtuous life with perfection (ihsan) of the inner and outer characters such as Godwariness (taqwa), patience (sabr), truthfulness (sidq), repentance (tawbah) , and etc.
The Fundamental Elements of the Islamic Worldview:
Tawhid is the central element in the Islamic worldview. Literally it means a unity of God, that there is no other gods except Allah SWT alone.
It is a total submission of the whole existence of man to the one and only God, since only He has the right in existence, while the existence of other beings is only relative to His Existence.
A submission that demands a complete submission in the heart, in the tongue and in the actions of man.
A man’s life, all his actions and at very moment until his last breath, is submitting to the Divine Will.
Hence it is due to this relationship, between the Creator and all other beings, whom exist only to serve Him, that Allah SWT sets for us what are the things that we should believe in (aqidah), what are the right actions that should be performed (ibadah, muamalat and akhlaq), and all these should be performed in the most excellence and perfect manner (ihsan).
That which constitutes our belief system are these important elements:
- Islamic vision of the Ultimate Being.
- Islamic vision of the Prophethood.
- Islamic vision of man.
- Islamic vision of nature.
- Islamic vision of life and death.
- Predestination (Divine decree).
Main characteristics of Islamic worldview:
Islam is primal. Islam is the one and only true religion that have ever existed. It is al-Din al-Hanif, and Allah SWT has sent down 124, 000 Prophets and 25 Messengers, whom all has been revealed to them the same basic teachings and principles of Islam.
Islam is final. Islam as a religion that we know it today is the last revealed religion, and it was revealed to our beloved Prophet Muhammad SAW.
Islam is the middle path. It is a religion that although the akhirah-aspect is more important than the dunya-aspect, the dunya should not be neglected, and involving oneself in the dunya, is also considered as part of the preparation for the akhirah-aspect.
Islam is the natural religion. It is in our nature (fitrah) to submit to the one and only God. “When thy Lord drew forth from the children of Adam, from their loins, their descendants and made them testify concerning themselves, [saying] Am I not your Lord? Yes! We do testify. This, lest you should say on the Day of Judgement. Of this we were never mindful” (7:172).
Islam is perfect. “……This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed my favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion,” (5:3).
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