From Knowledge to Nihilism: Redeeming Humility
by Munawar A. Anees
“Read in the name of
thy Lord Who created.” This first verse of the Qur’an, revealed
some 1,400 years ago, announced the advent of Islam. The birth
of Islam was a proclamation on continuation of the Abrahamic
tradition. By the end of the Revelation that lasted for over two
decades, the Qur’an came to contain nearly 800 instances of
words and nuances associated with the archetype, knowledge (al-‘ilm).
Whether civilizations
appear as a pursuit of profit or as an act of luxury is debatable in
the face of Islamic civilization that once reflected the pinnacle of
creativity: it was known as the Civilization of the Book. Out
of the Arabian heartland, there emerged a culture that flourished
from the Iberian Peninsula in the West to the Pacific Rim in the
East. From the majestic minarets of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul
through the winding bazaar of Timbuktu in Mali to the
emerald-studded marble façade of Taj Mahal in India, there still is
a sublime echo of a civilizational grandeur.
The early Muslim
civilization, heir to a rich and diverse intellectual stock Roman,
Greek, Indian, and Persian - accomplished the unique synthesis of
ideas in all branches of knowledge. From the 8th to the 13th century
there were more religious, philosophical, medical, astronomical,
historical, and geographical works written in Arabic than in any
other human language of the period.
The Enlightenment, which
coincided with the Muslim fall, struck a heavy blow to the Muslim
intellect that was later enslaved by the spread of colonialism.
Modernity and then post-modernity has done little to rescue the
intellectual landscape in the Muslim world. Globalization now is
forcing a daunting challenge.
Today, the Muslim world
faces the most critical period of its history: a civilization
standing at the crossroads, seemingly unable to carve a niche in the
community of nations.
We are passing through a
crisis of identity and, consequently, a crisis of contextualization.
In the absence of the spirit of free inquiry and free enterprise,
slowly but surely we are heading towards greater social disharmony.
Though it would be erroneous to characterize the Muslim world as a
monolith, yet it is fair to argue that not a single Muslim country
is there today that meets the criteria for modern political and
social governance, religious liberty, economic evolution, gender
equality, cultural prosperity and human dignity. Muslims continue to
live under dictators, autocrats, kings and authoritarian rulers in
grossly oppressive conditions.
The colossal tragedy
that struck the United States on September 11, 2001, has once again
put the House of Islam at the forefront in world affairs. It can be
decisively argued that a strategy for change in the Muslim world is
one of the crying needs of the hour. Any impartial observer of
Muslim affairs will testify that the creeping decay of the Muslim
societies did not beg the mercy of criminal terrorists to set the
former on a path to salvation. They may have been an effect rather
than a cause.
For instance, a recent
report by the United Nations Development Program, written by Arab
scholars and researchers, makes a scathing but pragmatic assessment
of human condition in the Arab world: The Arab economies are
stagnant, political freedom is absent and, with widespread
illiteracy, women are denied any opportunity in economic and
political life. Barriers to change are many and varied. Even the
traditional Muslim charities (awqaf) have lost their social
and economic relevance. The Arab report, in essence, is an indicting
commentary on the state of the entire Muslim world.
In his address to a
conference attended by ministers from some 35 Muslim countries,
Pakistan's self-appointed President, General Pervez Musharraf,
berated the global Muslim society in these words: "Today we are the
poorest, the most illiterate, the most backward, the most unhealthy
(sic), the most un-enlightened, the most deprived, and the
weakest of all the human race."
As Muslims we do not
have theologically sound understanding of our faith. Even the early
discourse on speculative theology (kalam) is absent from our
circles. We are engulfed in seemingly endless wars of rhetoric and
anger among ourselves and against the West. Orthodoxy has won over
reason. Rationalism, skepticism and individualism have been
mercilessly sacrificed at the altar of a totalitarian puritanism. We
are suffocating due to the loss of pluralism and progressive thought
so distinctive a trait of the Muslim past. How long is the global
Muslim community (ummah) going to suffer after the
foreclosure of the gates of reasoned argument (ijtihad) a
millennium ago? Another millennium?
The dilemma of modernity
is nowhere more pronounced than in the Muslim perception and
assimilation of modern science and technology. While the
self-absorbed theocracy deems it fit to exploit the instruments of
modernity in the furtherance of its own agenda, at the same time it
does not consider it unethical to condemn the sources of modernity
in the most virulent terms. On the other hand, Muslim intellectual
response toward a constructive engagement of religion and science
remains largely an uncharted and undefined territory.
The state of debate on
religion and science in the Muslim world is that of a blurred
intellectual vision. It is largely an articulation of a viewpoint
that betrays the paucity of knowledge and thought about the modern
scientific ethos. Together, it perpetuates an ossified style of
theological reasoning. Others take it from an extreme apologetic
perspective to the point of turning the Qur'an into a book of pure
astronomy, biology, chemistry, mathematics or physics. Much of it is
promoted as Islamic education, with a ring of authority where
critical thinking is made to be a forbidden tree.
Similarly, the
effervescent epistemological revisionism in the garb of "Islamization
of knowledge" has fallen into the trap of an allegedly value-free
science. They thought it sufficient to add an adjective to some
disciplinary categories and that summed up the Islamization
endeavor.
Then there is the poorly
articulated and epistemologically weak idea of "Islamic science"
that randomly makes use of a few common Islamic concepts and values
in a rhetoric borrowed from the Western social radicalism - without
ever reaching an analytical depth.
Against the backdrop of
these feeble intellectual currents lurks the traditionalist
discourse that altogether consigns modern science to oblivion and
attempts to prop up a fatal mix of mystical and alchemical
knowledge. That too in the name of Islamic science! Much of the
historical discourse on the subject remains panegyric in nature, to
the extent of self-delusion. The so-called jihadi agenda
though adhered to by only a minority partially thrives on this
nostalgic thread.
This vast intellectual,
and to some extent doctrinal, confusion about the theory and
practice of science, as well as the attending theological
ramifications, calls for a radical change in both attitudes and
practices towards both religion and science. In our understanding,
this change in attitudes and practices must occur at two levels: i)
epistemic - pedagogy in science following a free inquiry model
rather than regurgitating the received text or being a mindless
imitator, and ii) cultural - the innovative mind is encouraged to
develop positive interfaces between science and religion toward a
greater harmony in knowledge.
We are neither
interested in a scientific apology for the Qur'an nor in the
relegation of science to a Quranic literalism because both tend to
obfuscate the advance of knowledge in the respective domains.
Contrarily, we need a dynamic invocation that may play a pivotal
role in breaking the impasse that continues to grip Muslim mind and
culture. A political neutral, the concept of humility appears to
offer a ground for the indispensable engagement of religion and
science in the Muslim context. It may act as a catalyst for a
liberating view of knowing the self and what surrounds us.
The Qur'an explicitly
speaks of humility in relation to one's faith and how it can enhance
one's spiritual awareness and commitment to God:
“Has not the time arrived for the believers that their hearts
in all humility should engage in the remembrance of God and of the
Truth, which has been revealed to them?” al-Hadid 57:16 Commentary: "Humility and the remembrance of
God and His Message are never more necessary than in the hour of
victory and prosperity."
“Say whether ye believe
in it or not, it is true that those who were given knowledge
beforehand, when it is recited to them, fall down on their faces in
humble prostration and they say: Glory to our Lord! Truly has the
promise of our Lord been fulfilled! They fall down on their faces in
tears, and it increases their earnest humility.” al-Isra
17:107-109 Commentary: "A feeling of
earnest humility comes to the man who realizes how, in spite of his
own unworthiness, he is brought, by God's mercy, into touch with the
most sublime truths. Such a man is touched with the deepest emotion
which finds its outlet in tears."
“Those who are near to
thy Lord disdain not to do Him worship: They celebrate His praises,
and bow down before Him.” al-Airaf 7:206
Commentary: "The higher you are in spiritual attainment the
more is your desire and opportunity to serve and worship your Lord
and Cherisher and the Lord and Cherisher of all worlds; and the
greater is your pride in that service and that worship."
The Quranic term for
humility is khushu'. It is narrated that even the Prophet was
exhorted and he labored to lace his prayers with utmost humility,
and tears. He, in turn, reminded the believers to follow his example
in prayers. The opposite of humility is arrogance (kibr in
the Quranic terminology). Of Satan (iblis), the Qur'an speaks
as the arrogant one who refused to obey God's command to show
humility towards His creature. In other words, one may consider
absence of humility tantamount to arrogance that is not an Angelic
but a satanic attribute. Arrogance defines its own boundaries,
foreclosing new possibilities of knowing. Further, in the Quranic
phrase arrogance leads to tyranny (zulm).
At this point, we are
reminded of Dr. Muhammad Abdus Salam of Pakistan, the first Muslim
Nobel Laureate. In his writings, he often referred to the role of
humility in the understanding of Nature. However, he was unable to
articulate his thoughts on the subject in a manner that would
transform that abstract notion of humility into reality. Moreover,
the celebrated Pakistani poet and Lenin Prize Laureate, Faiz Ahmad
Faiz, in spite of his secular credentials, was forced to admit the
organic necessity for humility. His poetry, often reflective of the
bewilderment felt at the cosmic splendor, carries an implicit ode to
humility inherent in man.
The example of a
religious physicist and a secular poet tells that there runs a
common thread of humility in the human mind. Its outer manifestation
may not be a uniform phenomenon or man may attempt to deny it under
the guise of secular objectivity. But, as Sir John Templeton
articulates humility as a universal concept, the strength of the
epistemic humility lies in reawakening a force in human thinking
without upsetting the theological/intellectual
balance and creating a unique interface between religion and science
in a rigorous fashion. This we believe is one of its outstanding
characteristics.
The recognition of
boundless opportunities for spiritual and cognitive information only
stands to spur human endeavor for excellence in both spheres. Acting
in a complementary fashion, the humble approach in religion and
science opens new vistas of knowledge and understanding. While
immersing the man deeper into spiritual experience, this approach,
as contrasted with the positivist heroic approach in science opens
new bold opportunities for learning.
Again, in the Muslim
context, as well as in other religions, humility could be regarded
at once as an agent of both spiritual and cognitive evolution. The
five daily prayers in Islam, for example, could be understood as a
symbol of humility of man towards his Creator. Will the obscurantist
theocracy and incarcerated intellect in the Muslim world rise to the
clarion call of humility towards fulfillment of their duties toward
their Creator?
Dr. Munawar Anees, a Pakistani-American writer and a social critic, is a Special
Consultant to the John Templeton Foundation, Philadelphia. In February 2002, he
was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. He contributed above article to Media Monitors Network (MMN).
