Title: How Do We Develop an Original Islamic Philosophy?

Source: https://youtu.be/6jBtbUSWwrk?si=LDK3TxvRI2XmuuOf

The source video above captures a lecture delivered by Prof. Dr. Taha Abderrahmane in Istanbul on July 23, 2024. It was translated by ʿAqil Azme who re-uploaded it from the original video by Islâm Düșünce Enstitüsü (IDE). The following is a transcript of ʿAqil Azme's translated video recorded by Ilyas Habeeb.

This video is transcribed primarily to facilitate my own understanding of what Prof. Dr. Taha Abderrahmane is lecturing, and secondly, to make the transcript accessible to others with the hope that it also helps them understand the lecture better.

1. . Introduction
2. . Principles
   • Principle 1: Create/Reformulate the Problem
   • Principle 2: Assert Debasement of Man
   • Principle 3: Think Methods to Address Calamities
   • Principle 4: Assert Changing Pattern of Relations
   • Principle 5: Argue against Scientific Form of Philosophy
   • Principle 6: Refine the Principle of Contemplation
   • Principle 7: Refine the Principle of Ethicizing
   • Principle 8: Refine the Principle of Emulation
3. Conclusion
4. Notes of the Translator

Introduction

• The originality asala of Islamic philosophy is based on three things:
  1. The reliance on the uniqueness of the Ummah in formulating its contemporary philosophical question;
  2. Deriving universal elements from this uniqueness as well as being open to them;
  3. Reconsidering the understanding of philosophy in accordance with connecting the uniqueness with universality
• For that reason, I say:
  • My purpose in discussing 'original Islamic philosophy' is not to delve once again into what is called the 'problem of Islamic philosophy', which has preoccupied scholars in the West and East since the half of the 19th century, which revolved around the broad question: 'Is there an Islamic philosophy?'
  • Rather, my aim is to point out some philosophical landmarks ma'alim that the contemporary Muslim philosopher may be guided by in establishing a philosophy connected to the Islamic discursive field majal tadawul, where this connection makes the Muslim recipient feel familiar with this philosophy and not alienated by it, so that they engage in considering it and interacting with its issues, whether accepting it or critiquing it.
• Let us outline these fundamental landmarks in the form of 'general principles' usul amma.
• We enumerate eight of these general principles:
  • Principle 1: Create/Reformulate the Problem
  • Principle 2: Assert Debasement of Man
  • Principle 3: Think Methods to Address Calamities
  • Principle 4: Assert Changing Pattern of Relations
  • Principle 5: Argue against Scientific Form of Philosophy
  • Principle 6: Refine the Principle of Contemplation
  • Principle 7: Refine the Principle of Ethicizing
  • Principle 8: Refine the Principle of Emulation

Principles

Principle 1: Create/Reformulate the Problem

• A Muslim philosopher should not adopt another's philosophical problem in its original form as his own specific problem.
• Instead, he should create his own philosophical problem, or at the very least, reformulate what he receives from others, according to the requirements of the Islamic discursive field.
• The more this problem, in content or form, is connected to his reality and the life of his Ummah, the more it signifies its originality.
• It is clear that the fundamental philosophical problem faced by the contemporary Muslim philosopher in his time is determined by two elements:
  1. The Position of Man in the World
  2. The Prevailing Philosophical Conception tasawwur in the World
• As for 'the position of man in the world' (Point 1), if it is said, or if it is true that a philosopher is a product of his own time, then no time is in more need of preoccupying the philosopher than the time our world is currently undergoing, i.e., the Muslim philosopher, as our world witnesses various forms of violations of values, betrayal of trusts, and breaking of agreements that have debased Man to his basest level.
• The need for the Muslim philosopher in this moment is no less than that for the non-Muslim philosopher, and perhaps, this time is in need for the Muslim philosopher even more so than that of others, since the principle of Islam being revealed is not just to cut off the reasons for debasement from Man, but to achieve the ultimate goal in honoring Man!
• As for the second element which determines the philosophical problem for the contemporary Muslim (Point 2) is the prevailing philosophical conception tasawwur in the world, because the world operates on a specific conception of philosophizing.
• This prevailing philosophical conception in the world is of two types:
  1. The Scientific Conception of Philosophy
  2. The Epistemological Conception of Philosophy
• If philosophy is 'the love of wisdom' hikma, then 'wisdom' has taken, over its long philosophical course, two fundamental forms:

  1. 'Wisdom' as 'Truth' Haqiqah , whereas philosophy is defined as being 'the pursuit of truth' as in our saying, 'the truth of the universe' or 'the truth of Man'.

     However, the concept of 'Truth' did not become established as one view, but rather, has changed in phases.

     Each phase narrowing the meaning of 'Truth' more than the preceding one, until today, 'Truth' only signifies the 'Truth' derived from 'Reality' Waqi and philosophy has become subordinate to 'Science' in the narrow meaning of the word, i.e., 'the acquisition of objective laws'.

     And this form is what we call the 'Scientific Form of Philosophy', where philosophy becomes science and a servant to it.

  2. 'Wisdom' as 'Meaning' Ma'na , where philosophy is defined as being 'the pursuit of meaning' as in our saying, 'the meaning of existence' or 'the meaning of life'.

     It is known that the question of meaning is the question of Value qima. However, the concept of 'Value' has, in turn, fluctuated through various phases.

     Each phase narrowing the meaning of 'Value' more than the one preceding it, until today, 'Value' only signifies 'Value Derived from the Self' dhat and philosophy has become subordinate to 'Self-Knowledge' ma'rifa al-dhat in the narrow meaning of the word, i.e., 'the acquisition of personal benefits'.

     We call this second form 'The Epistemic Form of Philosophy'.

• From here, it becomes clear that the Muslim philosopher needs to problematize, based on the perspective of the Ummah, the reality of the contemporary Man in light of the contradiction between the two philosophies - between the two conceptions of philosophy that are contradictory.
• For this reason, his original philosophical problem takes this form:
  • "How can we restore coherence ittisaq to philosophy, such that the philosopher assumes his responsibility in clarifying the path that leads the contemporary Man out of his debasement?"

Principle 2: Assert Debasement of Man

• The Muslim philosopher asserts that the debasement of Man in this age is a result from two calamities, which are:
  1. The Calamity of 'The Unrestraint tasayyub of Science'
  2. The Calamity of 'The Abstraction of Knowledge' ma'rifa. (in other words, 'The Abstraction of Knowledge from Values')
• As for the first calamity (The Unrestraint of Science), of course today, philosophy has become subordinate (to science), like a servant to master, where science no longer subjects itself to any standards ma'ayir not set by its own logic.
• The logic is now based on achieving the utmost it can in 'computability' hisabiyya, 'productivity' intajiyya, 'yield' mardudiyya, and 'efficiency' fa'aliyya, such that everything, for it, became a possibility mumkin, and every possibility became a realization mutahaqqiq.
• Indeed, the Islamic discursive field, even while elevating the status of 'Science' and advocating its pursuit, has delimited it with 'Judgment' hukm, as in the Qur'anic verse: "and unto each of them We [God] gave judgment and knowledge ['ilm]" (21:79)
• The intended meaning of 'Judgment' hukm here is the wisdom hikma.
• The separation of Science from it [wisdom] inevitably leads to its unrestraint; and the unrestraint of Science is as harmful as its contraction, for the contraction of Science is the loss of its benefits, and the unrestraint of Science is the realization of its evils.
• Both the loss of good and the realization of evil, in the case of Science, have the one same effect.
• As for the second calamity (The Abstraction of Knowledge from Values), when 'Self-Knowledge' became abstracted from the consideration of 'Absolutes' mutlaqat and Values became subject to the whims of the Self, this knowledge no longer accepted any standards that did not align with the logic of 'enjoyment' istimta that now governs the actions of the Self.
• And indeed, the Islamic discursive field, while it has elevated the status of self-knowledge and advocated its pursuit, it has established it on the principle of the realization of Lofty Values.
• The abstraction of Self-Knowledge from Lofty Values is indeed an evil just like the complete absence of Values in this knowledge; for the absence of Values in Self-Knowledge is the loss of Values principally, and its abstraction from Lofty Values is the creation of Base Values.
• Both 'Loss of Value' and 'Creation of Base Values', in the case of Knowledge, also have the one same effect.

Principle 3: Think Methods to Address Calamities

• The Muslim philosopher should engage in thinking about methods to address the two calamities:
  1. The Calamity of Unrestrained Objective Science
  2. The Calamity of Abstraction of Self-Knowledge from Values
• To engage in thinking about these methods in such a way that the benefits of these methods extend beyond the specific Muslim community and apply universally to all of Man, regardless of who they are.
• I will not elaborate on the 3rd principle, I presume that it is clear.

Principle 4: Assert Changing Pattern of Relations

• The Muslim philosopher realizes that 'Objective Science' needs 'Refinement' tadhhib, and that 'Self-Knowledge' needs 'Guidance' tasdid, thus he affirms that 'Refining Science' and 'Guiding Knowledge' necessitate changing the pattern of relations alaqat that have governed human interaction with the world, whether they are 'Relations of Perception' idrak or 'Relations of Utilization' isti'mal.
• This assertion serves as the second fundamental claim that the philosopher makes in response to his question.
• Then, it is necessary to change the pattern of relations we have with the world whether 'Relations of Perception' or 'Relations of Utilization'.
• It is essential to achieve a change in this pattern that has been taken until our present day, and I will explain the nature tabi'a of this pattern.
• The 'Relations of Perception' within it are relations of 'capturing' iqtinas things, for example:
  • Man has always and continue to perceive things on the basis of 'capturing'; thus the perceiver mudrik of a thing considers himself a captor muqtanis of the perceived object mudrak, and 'capturing' is the ultimate in the feeling of 'intellectual domination/possession' imtilak 'aqli.
• Thus, this is regarding relations of perception of the world.
• Now, 'Relations of Utilization':
  • For utilization, Man has always and continue to utilize things, including themselves, based on 'benefitting' intifa.
  • And 'benefitting' is the ultimate in the feeling of 'practical domination/possession' imtilak 'amali.
• If that is the case, it follows that the 'feeling of dominating that which is perceived' mudrakat is the basis for 'technical unrestraint' in objective science, and the 'feeling of dominating that which is utilized' musta'malat is the basis for the 'abstraction of values' in self-knowledge.
• Therefore, the Muslim philosopher engages in deep thinking about a different pattern for relations of perception and utilization, i.e., a pattern not based on the feeling of domination of intelligibles ma'qulat through 'capturing', or based on the feeling of domination of utilities through 'benefitting', but rather based on the feeling that opposes it, especially since the meaning antonymous to 'domination/possession' is rooted in his discursive field, and this is established by a Divine covenant in which Man acknowledges that Ownership belongs to God, the Subduer, alone.
• This antonymous meaning is specifically 'trusteeship' i'timan.
• Thus, the realization of 'trusteeship' as a substitute of 'domination/possession' makes the perceiver of an object feel that they are 'embracing' what they perceive, just as it makes the user musta'mil of an object feel that they are being 'improved' by what they utilize.
• Thus, 'embracing' ihtidan and 'improvement' insilah are two clear relations of trusteeship.
• For 'embracing' is a reception that involves 'honoring' ikram, thus no ownership is involved, and 'improvement' is an acceptance that involves 'rectification' islah, thus no ownership is involved.
• Thus, achieving the feeling of 'trusteeship' is what makes us remove objective science from 'unrestraint' to 'refinement'.
• Thus, 'refined objective science' is the science that is free from 'technical exploitation' istibaha.
• And in the same way, this feeling of 'trusteeship' is what makes us remove self-knowledge from 'abstraction' to 'guidance' tasdid.
• So, 'guided self-knowledge' musaddada is the knowledge that adheres to practical integrity istiqama 'amaliyya.

Principle 5: Argue against Scientific Form of Philosophy

• Notice how science, despite its human benefits, may become unrestrained and requires 'guidance'.
• And for that reason, the role that is incumbent upon the philosopher comes here:
  and it is changing the understanding of philosophy.
• It is necessary for philosophy to not be subordinate to science, but rather, it is necessary for science to serve philosophy and be subordinate to it.
• Thus, here is the fifth principle:
  It is incumbent upon the Muslim philosopher to argue that the 'Scientific Form of Philosophy' diverts philosophy from its fundamental (essence), such that it does not contribute to the refinement of science.

Principle 6: Refine the Principle of Contemplation

• The sixth, seventh, and eight principles are that even if he (the Muslim thinker) adopts the epistemological conception of philosophy, he must refine it -- refine this conception.
• Of course, this epistemological philosophy -- this epistemological form of philosophy is built on three principles:
  1. The Principle of Contemplation tafakkur
  2. The Principle of Ethicizing takhalluq
  3. The Principle of Emulation tashabbuh
• So, the role of the philosopher is to review muraja'a these principles.
• We engage in contemplation, but not all contemplation.
• We engage in ethicizing, but not all ethicizing.
• We engage in the principle of emulation, but not all emulation.
• Thus, the sixth principle is:
  The Muslim Philosopher argues that the 'Principle of Contemplation' among the principles of the 'epistemological form of philosophy' necessitates distinguishing between two reasons:
  1. Philosophical Reason aql falsafi
  2. Scientific Reason aql 'ilmi
• Philosophical reason never dispenses with values at all, whereas scientific reason dispenses with values, and even considers them as obstructive to values.
• Thus, it is necessary to distinguish two types of reasons:

  1. Denuded/Abstracted Reason aql mujarrad - not as it is understood by many readers - denuded reason does not mean reason which abstracts universals from particulars. No, it is reason which abstracts values, not to adopt them but to dispose of them.

     It is not the denuded reason according to the philosophical understanding (abstracting universals from particulars to control the particulars), while philosophical reason, in the epistemological form, (mistake), it abstracts - or rather, scientific reason, in the scientific form - it abstracts values from things - not to guide the things with these values, but rather to dispose of them in totality.

• Thus, it is necessary to differentiate between two reasons, one of which I call:
  (1) Denuded/Abstracted Reason;
  (2) Guided Reason aql musaddad

Principle 7: Refine the Principle of Ethicizing

• Just as the Muslim philosopher reviews the 'Principle of Contemplation' which the epistemological form of philosophy adopts, he also reviews the second principle, which is the 'Principle of Ethicizing', and he reviews it by arguing that it necessitates establishing ethics akhlaq based on natural disposition fitra, and generalizing ethics for every situation, action, and method.
• The Muslim philosopher reviews or argues that the 'Principle of Ethicizing' among the principles of the epistemological form of philosophy necessitates establishing ethics based on the fitra and generalizing this ethics.

Principle 8: Refine the Principle of Emulation

• The 'Principle of Emulation' which the epistemological form of philosophy adopts, must be reviewed by contemporary Muslim philosopher.
• The eight principle is formulated as follows:
  • The Muslim philosopher argues that the 'Principle of Emulation' among the principles of the epistemological form of philosophy necessitates substituting the 'Principle of following the Prophet' in place of the 'Principle of Emulating God'.
• Of course, it is necessary to substitute the 'Principle of Emulation' with 'Following the Prophet', why?
• Because the perfect role model, or the perfect example that one must follow is the Perfect Man insan kamil.
• And there is no one more perfect than the Seal of the Prophets, peace be upon him.
• That is why, it is necessary for the philosopher to reject the notion of 'emulating God' which the Islamic philosophers falasifa adopted, and substitute it with the notion of 'following the Prophet'.
• This following is of two forms:
  1. Following the Prophet in the Intellectual Methodology manhaj aqli
  2. Following the Prophet in the Ethical Conduct maslak khulqi
• Following is not just in character, no, following is (also) in the intellect!
• We want to know the intellect of the Messenger of God, peace be upon Him, and follow him in it.
• As for following the Final Prophet in the intellectual methodology, of course, the Final Prophet did not discuss methods of contemplation in the manner of those versed in epistemological philosophy, but rather, he practically traversed, perfecting these methods and garnering their best fruits.
  • He would isolate himself for contemplation for various periods and consecutive days, until Revelation came to him.
  • So, what did the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, put to realization through this contemplation?
  • The Messenger of God, peace be upon him, put to realization the highest aim reachable by reason, which is 'truthfulness' sidq.
  • Thus, he adopted it as a virtue, until he was known as 'The Truthful', since truthfulness is the acknowledgement of Truth haqiqa, and the purpose of the intellectual methodology is specifically to reach Truth and to acknowledge it, thus the Muslim philosopher must regard 'truthfulness' as the highest of intellectual values.
  • Furthermore, truthfulness led the Final Prophet, peace be upon Him, to the highest of truths, which is 'the Unity of Lordship' tawhid rububiyya.
  • At this point, this philosopher can only consider truthfulness as an intellectual value connected to the Divine horizon, such that there is no Truth except that it has a special connection to this horizon that must be cognized.
• Now, regarding following the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, in the ethical conduct:
  • If the truthfulness of the Final Prophet, peace be upon him, is a proof of his attainment of 'perfect contemplation', then his 'trustworthiness' amana is a proof of his attainment of 'perfect ethicizing'.
  • While his people called him 'the Truthful' al-Sadiq before his prophethood, they also famously called him 'the Trustworthy' al-amin, until it became a title for him.
  • This naming was only driven by their recognition that he was naturally disposed towards truthfulness and trustworthiness such that there was no one else that could match him.
  • Just as truthfulness led him to the Unity tawhid of God, so too trustworthiness led him to justice among the people, such that his justice among people is connected to his (affirmation of) Unity of his Lord.
• In this way, 'monotheism' tawhid becomes the basis of trustworthiness and justice becomes the means of trustworthiness; both have made trustworthiness an expression for the virtue that encompasses the ethics of fitra (natural ethics), this 'natural disposition' fitra which the religion came in conformity with.
• When the Muslim philosopher (or any Muslim), in his Self-Knowledge (We need Self-Knowledge before anything else, the philosopher knows himself firstly before he presumes to know the Sacred Essence), resorts to fully emulating the Final Prophet, peace be upon him, in contemplation and ethicizing, i.e., in truthfulness and trustworthiness, he arrives at two fundamental truths:
  1. The perfection of the good life can only be realized through perfect emulation of the Final Prophet, peace be upon him.
  2. The highest rank in contemplation and ethicizing that the emulating philosopher can reach is the rank of the most sincere/affirmative siddiq, since he attains this through taking the Final Prophet as a model, in addition to his acceptance of the Divine selection bestowed specifically upon this prophet, peace be upon him.

Conclusion

• That's where my intervention comes in, but I still need to gather my thoughts, and then, the lecture would have ended.

• I say, with conciseness, any contemporary Islamic philosophy does not enjoy 'originality' asala until its main problem is creatively formulated by the Muslim philosopher.

• And this creativity in formulating the philosophical problem only occurs if he interacts with current philosophical views and interacts with established global challenges, and if he shapes the result of this dual interaction according to the specificity of the Islamic discursive field.

• Therefore, he must adopt the philosophy that approaches wisdom, turning away from the philosophy that leans towards science, and also address the fundamental challenge facing the world today, which is 'the debasement of Man'.

• And then, he is able to achieve his goal in addressing two tasks:

  1. Countering debasement as he identifies its most dangerous causes which is 'technical unrestraint' in science and 'abstraction of value' in knowledge, just as he discovers the most effective means to elevate it, which is 'refinement of science' and 'guiding knowledge'.
  2. Renewing wisdom-based philosophizing tafalsuf hikmi, there exists no philosophy 'only', rather, there exists a specific type, which is 'wisdom-based philosophy', where he differentiates in reason between 'denuded reason' and 'guided reason', and he establishes 'virtue' khuluq on 'natural disposition' fitra, and achieves the perfection of emulation at the level of most sincerity/affirmation siddiqiyya, using his philosophical problem to argue for the necessity of returning philosophy to its root, which is 'wisdom', as it alone is capable of saving Man from debasement, in the present and in the future.

• Peace be upon you all, along with the mercy of God the Exalted, and His blessings.

Student of Taha Abderrahmane

• In conclusion, this lecture brings us to anchor on the shore of wisdom and its essence is the Decree of God: "and he unto whom wisdom is given, he truly hath received abundant good. But none remember except men of understanding" (Qur'an 2:269).
• The first point:
  • In my estimation, some notes on the text of our Imam Professor Taha, regarding the philosopher's concern with the issue of science should contribute to the Muslim philosopher's efforts in eliminating the distressing schism between sources of knowledge: between The Knowledge of The Written Book and The Knowledge of the Observable Universe.
  • These are two sources of knowledge.
  • The history of our Islamic Umma was rich with the unity of these two sources.
  • We found ibn Rushd, the philosopher who refuted the philosophers, and the doctor who wrote 'The Universals in Medicine', and he was a jurisprudent, who wrote 'The Distinguished Jurist's Primer'.
  • Today, the Umma suffers from this distressing schism.
  • The knowledge of the Written Book is disconnected from the knowledge of the Observable Universe, and so it goes.
  • And we bring to bear them both in the Decree of God, 'Read in the name of thy Lord Who Created;'
  • Thus, this requires the effort of the jurist, the effort of the philosopher, to work on enumerating the way for the integration and accumulation of knowledge in its sources and its tools; this is the first point.
• The second point:
  • Our professor has emphasized and confirmed that ethical values are based on the 'Principle of Natural Disposition' fitra, and we say with natural disposition comes revelation, for natural disposition is established in one state and is faced with breakers, and the role of revelation comes in, turning these breakers into capitals.
  • Thus, we need to enhance the natural disposition with the guidance of revelation to make it light upon light;
  • this is the second point which I also see as important.
• The third point:
  • The contemporary caution of our scholars, our methodologies, and our tools has made some of our philosophers either retreat to the origin asl historically and cut themselves off from the era asr, or be swept along with the era with its problems that arose at its hands, alienated from the origin.
  • And I believe we also need the Muslim philosopher to work on achieving the cohesion between the origin and the era, so that the Muslim philosopher is connected to his origin and engaged with his era.

Taha Abderrahmane:

• I do not find any disagreement between his observation and what I have written and what I conceptualize.
• Perhaps, as a philosopher, I did not mention the backgrounds of every concept I have included in my writings, if not, I would have made my lecture 12 pages long, that is, all 12 pages consisting entirely of evidence from the Book of God and evidence from the Prophetic narrations that support what I say.
• Remarking on the first point of his student:
  • For that reason, we agree on the issue, when it was said 'the Written Book', it refers to the Sacred Law and Revelation.
  • Of course, this is a matter that I only mentioned through the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, considering that he is the Seal of the Prophets and what he brought with him is based on this foundation.
• Remarking on the second point of his student:
  • As for the issue of natural disposition, perhaps, there is some confusion in the concept of natural disposition.
    • Natural disposition fitra, this, to me, is an axiom.
    • And axioms are my right, just as it is the right of any scholar to have axioms, as well as the philosopher.
    • There is nothing without prior beliefs which are foundational; my primary belief is that natural disposition was established with Man in the Covenant of Witnessing mithaw ishhad, the day God, Glorified and Exalted is He, addressed him with a speech which indicates the addressee's knowledge of His Perfections, the Exalted and these Perfections are precisely the values.
    • He knows him through the path of values, i.e., Perfect Might, Perfect Justice, and so forth from the known attributes, and perfect Wisdom.
    • He knows him through these attributes meaning that natural disposition is derived from these perfections.
    • If we turn to Revelation, then Revelation, as mentioned in the Qur'an, descended in accordance with natural disposition: "That is the correct religion... the nature (framed) of Allah, in which He hath created man" (Qur'an 30:30).
    • It did not descend contrary to natural disposition, in any way absolutely.
    • Natural disposition may be diminished by cultural and societal accumulation, but fundamentally, if Man remained true to his origin, his behavior would not be contrary to Revelation, even if it had not been sent down!
    • This is due to the Covenant of Witnessing that took place.
  • Regarding The Observable World
    • As for my opinion, it is that the values of existence, commonly referred to in terms of the 'Observable World', that: The Values of Existence, The Values of Natural Disposition, and The Values of the Sacred Law are all One.
    • This means that the Sacred Law is revealed according to natural disposition, and natural disposition according to the nature of existence, and vice versa.
    • That is, they are all one set of values - perhaps I talked about this in my lecture - they are one set of values, but what happened?
    • The natural disposition was corrupted, so they started talking about instincts ghariza.
    • Thus, the matter became mixed up for scholars between the concept of instinct and the concept of natural disposition.
    • Instinct encompasses the natural predispositions and needs that enable humans to lead a material life, whereas natural disposition encompasses the predispositions that enable humans to lead a spiritual life.
    • Thus, we are in agreement that: The Sacred Law is in accordance of The Natural Disposition, and The Natural Disposition is in accordance with existence, in value and evaluation.
• Remarking on the third point of his student:
  • The third issue raised which is rigidity jumud to the origin and compliance with the era, in reality, there is nothing (for me to add), I thank the doctor, I agree with him on this issue.
  • That is, to not be rigid about the origin nor be fixed upon his rigidity, nor is he compliant with the era nor fixed upon his compliance.
  • Rather, he considers that he is in the truth just as with the old in the Sacred Law.
  • Thus, it is necessary to move beyond these two states.
• Peace be upon you - and I thank all of you and I thank all of you for your attendance and patience throughout this lecture, that is, I say it's long and tiresome in some aspects.
• And hear my words in this one sentence: Be sure that when I saw you all, I loved you all.

Notes of the Translator

1. Majal tadawuli ("discursive field") is defined as the components of a certain body of knowledge or science as shared by a section of society at a certain time. This includes their language, social worldviews, and political-religious beliefs. This shared knowledge constitutes part of the embedding culture. See Taha's work, 'Tajdid al-Manhaj'.
2. Viewers might find it helpful to supplement the critique of science, particularly in its nature as dominating things by viewing them as means to an end, by reading Heidegger's essay, 'The Question Concerning Technology'. Weber's essay, 'Science as a Vocation' is also useful.
3. Taha's focus on creativity (and originality) is because he views the former as one of the three fundamental principles of modernity hadatha. A genuine Islamic modernity is one of Taha's intellectual projects, and is seen as an ideal goal without having contradiction in those two terms, see his work 'Ruh al-Hadatha'.
4. Taha's division of reasons can be classified into three levels, starting with the lowest: denuded/abstracted reason aql mujarrad, guided reason aql musaddad, and enhanced reason aql mu'ayyad. The exact definitions and characteristics can be found in his al-Amal al-Dini.
5. Note the word used in 'guiding knowledge' tasdid al-ma'rifa is related to the world used for 'guided reason' aql musaddad.
6. Taha's usage of technical domination tiqaniyya seems to be influenced by Ellul, see his 'The Technological Society'.
7. It might be interesting to also compare Taha's concept of denuded reason with the kind of instrumental reason that Adorno & Horkheimer write about in their work 'Dialectic of Enlighhtenment'.
8. Note the relation of these words with each other in Arabic: trusteeship i'timan, trustworthiness ama'na, The Trustworthy (The Prophet) al-amin, all also related to the world 'to believe' amana, and believer mu'min, implying an inherently Divine ontological hierarchy.

And God and His Emissary ﷺ, peace be upon him, knows best.