Critical And Scientific Thinking

Let us start with the tentative vision statement first. It is actually not tentative. Because it is from the founder of the Aligarh Movement and, moreover, it is very comprehensive. The first half of it is the process and the second half is the outcome. This is that unique kind of vision statement which defines the roadmap, too. The vision statement, however, is as follows (in blue):

The students coming out of this College should have Qur’an in the right hand, most modern scientific and technological advancements in the left hand and the crown of Laa Ilaah on the forehead. So that the Muslims, ultimately, regain the same glorious status of founders and promoters of science and technology as they did during the ascendance of their civilization.

The major hindrance in our movement towards our ultimate goal is the deep (and painful) division of knowledge into ‘sacred’ and ‘secular’. There is nothing in Qur’an and Hadeeth that supports this dichotomy. The other problem is that whatever is taught in the name of the ‘sacred’ does not deal with the life as we are living it now. The students come out of these institutions with very good command on Arabic language and have the right Book in the right hand but aren’t able to apply it. They do not have much knowledge of English which could give them world-class ideas. Their left hands are obviously empty.

On the other hand the modern educated have a self-doubt thinking that by pursuing their fields of interest they are moving away from the spirit of their faith. They do learn the ‘modern’ subjects but miss out on Arabic language. They have technology in the left hand and have the crown in its right place but their right hands are empty - mostly.

These two streams of knowledge flow simultaneously but separate from each other. And no civilizational goals are fulfilled. We do not move any closer to our ultimate objectives. We are far away from the critical and scientific thinking, too.

We may divide the knowledge in different disciplines because of its vastness – for practical reasons. But the division in terms of desirable and undesirable (i.e. ‘Islamic’ and ‘un-Islamic’ or ‘non-Islamic’) is not supported by Qur’an. The very moment we call some of the sciences ‘Islamic’ the rest are automatically left out. This division is not tenable according to Qur’an which outlines three sources of knowledge:

i)              the man himself (aayaat al-anfus),

ii)            the universe (aayaat al-aafaaq - Fussilat, 41: 53) and

iii)         the ‘Days of Allah’ i.e. history (Ibraaheem, 14: 5).

The above-mentioned three sources of knowledge are so vast that practically no discipline and department is left out of it. You name a branch of knowledge and it will certainly fall under any of the three categories. Leave the ‘man’ and ‘history’. From the smallest dust particles to the biggest planets everything comes under aayaat al-aafaaq i.e. the ‘signs in the universe’. The division, however, happened because of the absence of Ijtihaad the doors of which were closed down long back and the conditions stipulated were too tough.

Islam has not established two worlds, the ‘secular’ and the ‘religious’. It is one and the same depending on our outlook (niyyah). Therefore, unless there is a confluence of both the streams of knowledge and research the energies will not be channelled efficiently and we will be deprived of the collective blessings and benefits. Therefore, we will have to look at the texts from a different perspective i.e. its applicability. We have to look at it to find out if it really decries the world or it promotes thinking and reflection which will result in enriching the human civilization on earth on healthier lines. The example of sailing ships has already been shared in this regard.

The myth of duality of knowledge, therefore, will have to be dispelled utilizing all our available resources. I would certainly mention here the monthly Tahzeeb al-Akhlaaq which is still being published from the AMU. It could be used to promote enlightened perception of Islam aiming at eliminating the misconception of the division of knowledge. This magazine has done a great service earlier. It can do so again with a slightly different focus. We should, however, rechristen Tahzeeb al-Akhlaaq as Tahzeeb al-Afkaar, which will make a psychological impact. Increased membership on our Forums may also serve as a catalyst. This is a wonderful tool of (internal) communication that we have. (The initiators of these platforms are doing a highly commendable job and they deserve all our appreciation.)

Tahzeeb al-Afkaar will herald the beginning of a new phase of the Aligarh Movement with the aim of developing a critical and scientific attitude and thinking in the community. We can have it in English, too, so that our students benefit from it. If the wisdom dictates that we rethink about the printing and circulating the magazines in the conventional manner we can discuss further. The Forum could serve the same purpose in the long run.

We have to further augment our communication. Tahzeeb al-Afkaar will aim at gradually weaning the Indian Muslims away from the non-issues and guide them to focus on the issues. It will help change the psychology of complaining and will seek to replace it with the thankfulness of Allah for all the blessings that they are already enjoying. It will highlight the opportunities more than the problems. It will instil self-confidence among them and will tackle the issue of emotionalism. The phenomenon of emotionalism exists due to the absence of scientific and rational approach. The education (to whatever extent it has reached) hasn’t helped in creating a scientific temperament due to the non-description of the goals of education in clear terms. This is also the reason that we get easily distracted from the main track. We face it everyday. Tahzeeb al-Afkaar will educate the Indian Muslims to gradually differentiate between the genuine and the fake. Between the organic changes and the short lived ones. Tahzeeb al-Afkaar will, by virtue of its name itself, bring about more awareness for appreciating ideas and, in fact, adding to the fund of ideas. The name will always suggest that we have come a long way. Tahzeeb al-Afkaar will develop and apply a new scholasticism (‘ilm al-kalaam) i.e. relating things with each other. Tahzeeb al-Afkaar will try to put the different parts of the jigsaw puzzle together.

Qur’an advises to seek help from salaah and sabr (prayer and patience respectively – Soorah al-Baqarah, 2: 45). To me Salaah is like a petrol station after every few kilometres where you can refuel your vehicle. The petrol station is not an end in itself. It is a means to an end. This is one of those means which we took as an end. Education, too, is only a means to an end and not an end in itself. Having recharged our vehicle let us move on to the road of discovery. When we leave the laboratory for Salaah let us also pray that Almighty Lord help me reach to the results of my current experiments so that I could discover one more law of nature (Sunnat Allah) and help make this life better for the fellow human beings. And then go back to the lab and carry out the experiments with a different kind of intention because ‘actions are judged by intentions.’ (Saheeh al-Bukhaaree)

Let it be a decision of the student at the completion of grade XII what s/he would like to pursue – based on proper counselling from the teachers (who are actually mentors). Let the teachers spot the specific talent in the students and groom them accordingly. The Arabic language and Islamic fundamentals could be a compulsory part of the curriculum till grade XII so that the students get a feeling of the language and the ideals and it helps them decide the future course of studies based on their own inclination. If a student is showing an aptitude for deeper studies in Tafseer, for instance, let her go ahead for it. We should have only the centers of specialization for Hadeeth, Tafseer and Fiqh – as an example. Those who opt for these disciplines should spend more time for more proficiency in Arabic as a prerequisite. We should have these centers just as we have for all other subjects – from the undergraduate levels onward. At the very outset we do not know which stream the student will take to after grade XII.

We should not decide ourselves that a student should definitely become an ‘aalim – in the conventional sense of the word or a biologist, a doctor, an engineer or a social scientist – for example. What is admirable about the modern educational institutions is the fact that they give ample room to the students to decide the stream of education. It does not happen in madrasaahs. In madrasaahs, the will of the parents and the system prevails – in utter disregard of the aptitude of the students.

We can ultimately do away with the nomenclatures like ‘modern’, ‘traditional’, ‘secular’ and ‘religious’. The names leave an unconscious impact and condition the patterns of thinking and further harden the schema. This is why the division has become deeper. Therefore, let us just name the sciences and disciplines e.g. Chemistry, Biology, Tafseer, Business Administration, Hadeeth, Nanotechnology, Fiqh and Biotechnology etc etc. It will take time – undoubtedly.

A part of the roadmap is ‘spiritual emancipation of the individual’. Ijtihaad is mainly required in this area – more than any other aspect of our collective life. We will be required to develop a culture of according more respect to the individual and focus on her / him more (than we do on the community) giving full expression to her creativity. This is the whole purpose of education, too. Because of less stress on individuals we have more taqleed (blind following) and traditionalism and scarcely any Ijtihaad. The individual is the creator of ideas. We need more individual-oriented thought patterns.

The individual is, in fact, the focus of Qur’an as has been argued separately (a small article attached herewith). The reason for focusing on the individual is the fact that the truth starts in the minority of one. If we suppress the individual it means we are suppressing the truth. If we suppress the truth there will be no need for a roadmap as there will be nowhere to go to. We will, therefore, be required to tone down the communitarian outlook a little bit and shift the emphasis from the community to individual. It is a cultural phenomenon and has evolved over hundreds of years. It will not go away overnight. But we can make a beginning somewhere.

The roadmap may also require the Aligarh Muslim University teachers to devote some extra time each day on research and on counselling the students along the lines of our cultural and civilizational needs – as outlined in the vision statement. This task has to be taken up at the AMU before anywhere else – for obvious reasons.

We will be required to establish contacts with the ‘Ulama and that is the toughest job. Certainly there will be a lot of resistance. Because of multiple reasons. It should, however, not be ignored that many among them send their own children to modern institutions. This is even in the cases of those who are the in-charges of madrasaahs. They aren’t normally questioned about it, I guess. The development of critical and scientific approach with take care of such anomalies. It will take care of the incoherence.

The road to roadmap has a very important station along the way – Jamaa‘at-e-Islaami Hind. Please do not be surprised at my mentioning it. I know them from close quarters and its many members are in Aligarh and the AMU. The Jamaa‘at has sincere and disciplined members. At the moment they are in a state of self-contradiction – probably unconsciously. Someone needs to articulate it to them and the enlightened among them, particularly the ones in the AMU, will most likely understand it. If we are able to convince (at least) a segment to come out of the self-contradiction (as outlined in an article attached herewith) it could help. The reason for focusing on this Jamaa‘at is that it is considered to be more broad-minded and has those members on board who are very good at writing and speaking skills. They could become our resources in our journey forward, God willing. I feel that we will at least be able to communicate with this segment more easily as compared to the ‘Ulama.

Introduction of a course on ‘Critical Thinking’ the outlines of which are ready may be taken up by the concerned persons at the AMU. Those among the members who have studied in a developed country, for instance America, may provide more feedback on it and suggest the ways to incorporate critical thinking and leadership building techniques in the curriculum tailored according to our needs.

A part of our job will be to keep an eye on those channels of communication, say periodicals, which do not have a very clear idea about what they are supposed to promote and have those materials published which amount to the dissipation of our energies and resources as well as take us farther away from the civilizational goals. This will require a team of writers who share the same vision and critically review the articles published in those periodicals. Gradually the trend may change and the takers of the same vision increase. It is a painful and time-taking job. But I have a hope. We have very good writers among us. It will become a very big force the day we share the vision.

In conclusion I would most humbly submit here that please do not expect from me to provide the full roadmap alone. We will need a team. This is exactly why we want to bring the confluence of the two streams of knowledge so that the ideas multiply. But yes I believe that if we agree on the need for a roadmap we will arrive at it with sustained thinking. The sustained thinking which no problem can withstand. This is an exercise which we haven’t undertaken for such a long period of time. It would, therefore, be unrealistic to have the whole thing ready in a very short while. Hence, let us recognize and create awareness for the need of a roadmap which is in harmony with our vision. Let me also reiterate here that ‘the significant problems we are facing cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them’. It is more a battle of minds and hearts – than anything else.