ABC Of Islam Theory of Knowledge

Abstract

Main Thesis of this article is that man is the vicegerent of God in this world. And in order to enable him to fulfill his responsibilities (of his vicegerency), God has endowed man with the potentials of creative & conceptual knowledge. Faculties, required for acquisitional of knowledge, such as, eyes, ears, head & heart, are laid into the human constitution. Further, man is also endowed with revelational knowledge which offers him the requisite wisdom & values that may economize his time & labor & guide him to the right path. Life & knowledge, so to say, go together. Knowledge is meant for the transformation of his life. Since there are different forms of life, so is the case with knowledge. All forms of knowledge, however, are indispensable & an integral part of human existence. Islam, it may be underlined advocates a holistic view of knowledge. It does insist though that there is a logical hierarchy. Revelational knowledge, for instance, is deemed supreme & all other forms of knowledge (such as scientific or empirical, rational & intuitive, etc.) are subsumed & sub-ordinated to revelational knowledge. All these forms of knowledge are to be harmonized in a proper logical order. If this order is somehow disturbed & wisdom/values are divorced & detached from power (scientific & political) it could prove disastrous for human life.