Creative Thinking An Islamic Perspective by Jamal Badi and Mustapha Tajdin (Kuala Lumpur: International Islamic University Malaysia 2004. 248 pages.)

Abstract

Growing out of a course that the authors have taught jointly since 1996 at
the International Islamic University Malaysia (“Creative Thinking and
Problem Solving”), this book is designed for use as an undergraduate textbook
on these issues from an Islamic viewpoint. Since Muslims generally deplore their own community’s lack of creativity and desperately need to
reverse their technological and scientific dependence on other countries, the
authors seek to present a realistic strategy to help them regain the innovative
spirit that characterized classical Islamic civilization. Drawing on cognitive
psychology and related disciplines in western academia, they begin with the
assumption that creativity is a learned skill, rather than the personal endowment
of an elite corps of humanity. The book then develops their second
assumption: Islamic values and perspectives can be enriched through a dialogue
with western social sciences.
The first part is devoted to Islamic civilization’s contribution to human
civilization: tafakkur and other Qur’anic words calling for people to think
creatively (chapter 1); applying secular “thinking styles” literature to the
Qur’an, including the inquisitive, objective, positive, hypothetical, rational,
reflective/contemplative, visual, metaphorical, analogical, emotional, perceptual,
conceptual, intuitive, scientific, and wishful thinking styles (chapter
2); analyzing the concept of ijtihad and its vocation to constantly adapt
Islamic law to changing circumstances and find creative solutions to persistent
socioeconomic and political challenges (chapter 3); and summarizing
Muslim contributions to science, philosophy, and medicine (chapter 4) ...