I think modern Islamic apologetics has distorted the notion of "fitrah", and this has filtered down into much commonplace Muslim (mis)understanding of the concept.
A thread against "reformed epistemology". (1/21)
A thread against "reformed epistemology". (1/21)
Per the Qur'an and our mainstream theologians (ie the mutakalimin), "fitrah" refers to the primordial human disposition to (inter alia) be inquisitive, seek make and follow rational arguments, and thereby arrive at tawhid (monotheism). (2/21)
This is the way of Ibrahim (a.s.) referred to in Qur'an (eg 6:74-83), and how Ghazali and Razi - amongst others - defined the concept.
(There are other aspects of our primordial disposition too, including cleanliness [given in a hadith].) (3/21)
(There are other aspects of our primordial disposition too, including cleanliness [given in a hadith].) (3/21)
It is also congruent with the repeated Qur'anic injunctions to reason, think, ponder, prove, demonstrate, explore, see, hear, open our hearts, have certain knowledge, not blindly follow, etc. (4/21)
Accordingly, fitrah is not an excuse to not inquire and to not reason.
Quite the opposite: it tells us that to fail to inquire and reason is to fail to act in accordance with the nature God has created for us and prescribed us to be in accordance with (Qur'an 30:30). (5/21)
Quite the opposite: it tells us that to fail to inquire and reason is to fail to act in accordance with the nature God has created for us and prescribed us to be in accordance with (Qur'an 30:30). (5/21)
However, a recent Protestant Christian school of apologetics has emerged known as "reformed [ie Calvinist] epistemology".
This has posited, in good Christian fashion, that belief in God's existence is warranted without being reasoned towards. (6/21)
This has posited, in good Christian fashion, that belief in God's existence is warranted without being reasoned towards. (6/21)
Rather, our innate human cognitive faculties, when properly functioning, lead us to automatically believe in God, and this is all that is required to justifiably belief in God. God's existence is therefore labelled a "basic belief". (7/21)
This is consonant with the general tenor of the Christian (and particularly Protestant) tradition. Salvation as achieved by a blind leap of faith.
Even the more "rationalist" scholastics saw their project as "faith seeking understanding", not proving their faith. (8/21)
Even the more "rationalist" scholastics saw their project as "faith seeking understanding", not proving their faith. (8/21)
Islamic theologians, by contrast, universally were (or at least purported to be) evidentialists. That is, they believed *all belief must be held on the basis of evidence*. (9/21)
This was particularly true for religious belief, with the majority of mutakalimin holding that iman that was not held on the basis of reason was either invalid (ie that the person professing belief in Islam was not validly a Muslim) or at least something sinful. (10/21)
Were there outliers in our theological tradition?
Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Qayyim are usually pointed to. However:
1. As brilliant as they were, they were marginal figures until relatively recently. (11/21)
Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Qayyim are usually pointed to. However:
1. As brilliant as they were, they were marginal figures until relatively recently. (11/21)
2. In any case, whilst I agree they were likely in fact fideists (people who were fine with blind non-rational belief), they did not see themselves as such. They believed they were evidentialists and argued accordingly (just with what turns out to be a circular epistemology).(12)
Evidentialism was justified by the 'ijma (consensus) of Islamic theologians on the basis of (i) reason, (ii) the Qur'anic injunctions referred to above, and (iii) the fact that it is our fitrah to inquire and reason. (13/21)
Recently, a popular strategy of Muslim apologists has been to argue that tawhid is a "basic belief", and that fitrah is our capacity to automatically believe in God.
As we can see, this is precisely an inversion of the true concept of fitrah. (14/21)
As we can see, this is precisely an inversion of the true concept of fitrah. (14/21)
Our primordial disposition to inquire and reason is now being used to say inquiry and reason are unnecessary.
Innumerable Qur'anic injunctions are violated.
The 'ijma of our tradition is replaced with Christian theology. (15/21)
Innumerable Qur'anic injunctions are violated.
The 'ijma of our tradition is replaced with Christian theology. (15/21)
Unfortunately, I can see why this is seductive:
1. Kalam is complex, and analytic philosophy is even more complex. Reformed epistemology allows apologists to side-step the intense cognitive rigour and learning defending, say, the cosmological argument would require. (16/21)
1. Kalam is complex, and analytic philosophy is even more complex. Reformed epistemology allows apologists to side-step the intense cognitive rigour and learning defending, say, the cosmological argument would require. (16/21)
2. It allows "lay" Muslims (a term I dislike but convenient here) an easy excuse to avoid having to really think about their din. (17/21)
I respect reformed epistemology as a school of thought, and it may well have much to add to apologetics ('jadal') and - more importantly - our objective investigation into the nature of reality ('bahth'). (18/21)
But, for the reasons outlined in this thread, I strongly dislike the way this is being done at the moment.
We need to do the hard work of studying kalam and taking part in contemporary analytic philosophy. (19/21)
We need to do the hard work of studying kalam and taking part in contemporary analytic philosophy. (19/21)
Currently, most scholarship on Islamic theology is being undertaken by non-Muslims – and almost entirely historians, Arabicists, and philologists, not those with formal philosophical training.
Justice is not being done to the tradition. (Although this is slowly changing.) (20)
Justice is not being done to the tradition. (Although this is slowly changing.) (20)
And Muslims are almost entirely absent from the field of analytic philosophy (and, unlike the above, this does *not* seem to be changing).
We need to up our game inshAllah.
And Allah swt knows best. (21/21)
We need to up our game inshAllah.
And Allah swt knows best. (21/21)
Loading suggestions...