A Brief Note on the Evolution of Scholarship: From the Classical Period to Today

Abdul-Lateef Abdullah

“The Miracle of Arabic science, using the word miracle as a symbol of our inability to explain achievements which were almost incredible…. Unparalleled in the history of the world.” – George Sarton

It was during the period of high Muslim apogee: the 8th-13th centuries that the most decisive scientific inventions were made and the foundations of modern civilization were laid. During this period of history scientists and scientific discoveries were in their thousands, artistic creativity, great architecture, huge libraries, hospitals, universities, mapping of the world, the discovery of the sky and its secrets, and much more were brought forth. It was a time when the names of Al-Biruni, Al-Khwarizmi, Al-Idrissi, Al-Kindi, Ibn Sina, Al-Razi, Ibn Khaldun, Al-Khazin, Ibn al-Haytham, Al-Farabi, Al-Ghazali, Al-Jazari and hundreds more scientists made their mark on the world and the annals of history (Foundation for Science Technology and Civilisation (FSTC), 2004).

The great accomplishments of the Muslim scholars of the past, particularly this classical period of Islamic civilization, and their contributions to the greater human civilization are recognized throughout the world by Muslim and non-Muslim alike. The foundation for the European Renaissance and its contributions to modern life in the areas of science, art and scholarship are a direct result and continuation of a civilization and knowledge culture that was laid down by over 800 years of Muslim erudition and scientific discovery in a number of areas.

It is not the mere quantity of achievements that is of such interest today to modern Muslims and those living among them so much as it is how these great seekers of knowledge and discovery were able to accomplish so much for the sake of humanity and its upward progress. Today, as Malaysia leads the OIC and its Muslim member states in a drive toward reclaiming their spectacular heritage in science and scholarship, there is an urgent need to also reclaim the motivation and methods that resulted in a civilization reflecting the highest caliber of intellectual and human excellence.

Education During the Time of Muslim Scholarly Advancement

In the spirit of the great Muslim scientist and scholar Ibn Sïna, true education is the cultivation of the intellect in order to attain a deep understanding of the divine order observable in the world. Such an education cannot be merely utilitarian. Gaining material benefits is not the primary goal of education (Henzell-Thomas, 2005). Unlike today’s secularization of knowledge found throughout the Muslim and non-Muslim worlds, education in the classical Islamic period along with the European Renaissance that followed it, encompassed the two traditional categories of knowledge and the hierarchical relationship between them: revealed knowledge; attained through the religious sciences; and acquired or rational knowledge, attained through the rational, intellectual and philosophical sciences. In the worldview of tawhid (Divine Unity), knowledge is holistic and there is no compartmentalization of knowledge into religious and secular spheres. Both types of knowledge contribute to the strengthening of faith, the former through a careful study of the revealed Word of God and the latter through a meticulous, systematic study of the world of man and nature (Henzell-Thomas, 2002). For scholars such as Al-Ghazali, knowledge of sciences dealing with things God has made (the natural world) is a necessary prelude to the knowledge of God Himself. It was this combination of knowledge and study, i.e. the physical and metaphysical together that allowed scholars of the past to inquire and develop in a holistic manner, both intellectually and spiritually (al-Zeera, 2001).

The main reason for this tremendous flow of knowledge in all disciplines was the consistency in the Islamic worldview, philosophy and epistemology that was reflected in an education system that fused both religious and material sciences (al-Zeera, 2001). For example, at the Al-Qarawiyyin Universitiy in Fez, Morocco, a famous 1,200 year old center of learning in the Muslim world, the mosque was a place of religious instruction, political discourse, as well as education. Among the subjects taught, alongside the Qur’an and fiqh, were courses on grammar, rhetoric, logic, Medicine, mathematics, astronomy, chemistry, history, geography and music. This variety of topics and the high quality of its teaching drew scholars and students from all over the Muslim world (Foundation for Science Technology and Civilisation (FSTC), 2004).

Islamic Worldview and the Unity of Knowledge

For a society or its individuals to achieve any stride, progress, or accomplishment, a strong incentive is required. In today’s discourse, much of the incentive for “reclaiming the glory of past Muslim civilization” is set in the desire for worldly success and the acquisition of wealth and prestige. However, in studying the great Muslim scholars of the past, one finds that this was not their incentive and motivation. They were driven by a desire that was based first and foremost on the religious obligation to seek knowledge ‘from the cradle to the grave’. They knew that the path of knowledge was the way toward self and societal progress and excellence. Rather than the profit motive, our forerunners sought out perfection in everything they did and in every branch of knowledge. This explains the high standards in the knowledge of the sky and stars, extreme precision in surgery and ophthalmology, and accuracy in map making. It explains why the Muslims developed the experimentation method, mathematics and physics, and extremely accurate instruments. This is also why Muslim gardens, libraries and hospitals were run to standards unequalled throughout the world. And it is why this era of classical scholarly advancement produced some of the most prolific scholars in history (Foundation for Science Technology and Civilisation (FSTC), 2002).

The scientists and scholars of the medieval period understood the scientific process as an act of worship. The order or integral system found in nature was perceived through scientific inquiry as natural patterns and regularities, as ‘laws of nature’, which in reality only reflect God’s “manner of creation” or His way (sunnatullah) (Setia, 2003). With this understanding, the scientific process became an act of knowing God, and hence, worship as in line with the Qur’anic verse, “I created the Jinn and humankind only that they may worship Me” (51:56).

In the traditional madrassa system of the classical era, children were taught the Qur’an at an early age which formed the basis for their worldview; one that interconnected all of life according to the doctrine of tawhid. They had a consistent point of reference for all their scholarly and scientific pursuits which allowed them to learn and apply universal principles to all areas of knowledge and inquiry. It was this that allowed men such as Ibn Sina, Al Farabi and others to attain expertise in so many different fields of knowledge.

The classical scholars subscribed to an ontological understanding of reality that cultivates true scientific learning and is not merely a matter of the senses and the discursive mind. The learning and practice of true science, according to them, also involves an integrated discipline of spirit, intellect and conduct by which one self-consciously ascends to higher trans-empirical realities through the intuitive faculty of the soul. For it is only within the greater context of these higher realities that the true nature and significance of the phenomenal world can be understood. To such minds, the world is a “Great Open Book” and so every detail therein, encompassing the farthest horizons and our very selves, is like a word in that Book that speaks to man about its Author, as alluded to in the Qur’anic verse: “We shall show them Our portents on the horizons and within themselves until it will be manifest unto them that it [the Qur’an] is the Truth.” (Setia, 2003).

The Qur’an, in the classical period of Islam, was not merely kept on the shelf and read only at prayer times, but was read, studied, analyzed, reflected on and used as a guide to uncovering the hidden treasures of creation. In the traditional madrassa system, as mentioned earlier, learning always started with the Qur’an. Its mystery, universality, and comprehensiveness along with its complexity and depth, puzzled the powerful minds of the Muslim philosophers, scientists, linguists and theologians. It was from the Qur’an that Muslim scientists found their theories, inspirations and produced their encyclopedic works on metaphysics, philosophy, medicine, astronomy, mathematics, anatomy, the psyche, the nature of plants, animals, and minerals (al-Zeera, 2001). It can easily be said that the great civilization of the Muslims in the classical period was founded on the Qur’an. It was the civilization that surrendered itself to the word of truth, which, rather than acting as a restriction to progress as some believe today, resulted in a period of progress the world had never seen. From the Qur’anic impetus, human intellect reached its full flowering. Moreover, it was not an out-of-balance progress such as we have today, but one that produced towering personalities who achieved self-mastery and whose work and discoveries were put to use for the good of all in the form of medical advances, hospitals, public infrastructure, agricultural technologies and many others.

The Knowledge Culture

The huge body of knowledge that the Muslims of the classical era created and accumulated stemmed from a pure love and thirst for truth. Muslim scholars always acknowledged the influence of Greek, Indian and Persian civilizations on their work. It was this purity in intention to acquire knowledge and truth – no matter what the source – that created an overall knowledge culture, where the quest for knowledge was deemed an important form of religious striving. For them, the knowledge quest was the fulfillment of both Qur’anic and Prophetic injunctions, and thus deemed holy and sacred. Their constant reflection on the Qur’anic challenges to understand, comprehend and discover God’s greatness motivated them to study numerous fields and disciplines, for to acquire knowledge of creation was to know its Creator from different angles and dimensions (al-Zeera, 2001). “He Who created the seven heavens one above another: No want of proportion wilt thou see in the Creation of (Allah) Most Gracious. So turn thy vision again: seest thou any flaw” (Qur’an, 67:3)

This thirst for knowledge, grounded in the Qur’an and spread across multiple disciplines, produced a culture that benefited not only in terms of physical and material advancement, but in all realms of life. As the motivating factor was the Qur’an and the quest to know God through His revelation and His creation, Islamic scholarship in the classical age was not driven by the desire for wealth creation, nation building, or international respect. Individual perfection was the underlying goal, for the Muslims of that age knew that knowledge and action were the keys to true human development and progress. The purification of the individual soul through knowledge of God (including both revealed and rational knowledge), and subsequently acting in accordance with this knowledge, was the highest goal in life to scholars such as Al-Ghazali and others. A great society can only result from great individuals, and it is only from knowledge and right action that great individuals can arise. 

Scholarship Today

As a predominantly Muslim nation, Malaysia is also a multi-ethnic, multi-religious society as well. Though the focus here has been on Muslim civilization in its classical period, many of the same elements have defined non-Muslim civilizations as well. The European Renaissance or great Chinese dynasties of the past, for example, were also responsible for tremendous scientific and cultural achievements and all shared the same desire for truth through the quest for knowledge.

Today, in the post-enlightenment era, the world is undergoing major changes where science and scholarly pursuits are being driven more by the desire for wealth, power and material reward than anything else. This has resulted in numerous negative outcomes for human civilization, beginning with the overall decay of human morality and ethics, massive wealth differentials between rich and poor as well as huge discrepancies in the technological and social progress of nations. Though the West is still the center for scientific and artistic discovery, it is no longer in the vein of the European Renaissance, which produced the likes of Kepler, Da Vinci and Shakespeare. Rather, the majority of scientists and artisans today – whether from East or West – are mere technicians, who may excel in a specific domain but, at the same time, might also be morally and ethically bankrupt. Knowledge can be dangerous if it is not associated with and guided by ethics (al-Zeera, 2001). Due to the secularization of knowledge and the motivation behind its acquisition being solely material in nature—an attitude that has now engrossed the majority of the world’s educational institutions—the current era may be producing good technocrats but not true scholars whose greatness reflects their purity of intention and love of truth.

This quest for truth that launched the great Muslim classical period is not a Muslim-specific characteristic or virtue, per se. It does, however, result from a direct injunction from the sacred texts of Islam. Nevertheless, the motivation underlying all great scholarship has always shared the same love and quest for truth. Thus, it is this common quest that has brought the world’s greatest scholars together continuously throughout history in a spirit of cooperation and desire for human betterment.