Multiplicity of Knowledge Forms Lessons from Islamic Epistemology

Abstract

And say (O Mohammed): My Lord! Increase me in knowledge.
(20:114)
In the above verse from the Qur'an, God enjoins the Prophet Muhammad
to literally plead for knowledge. I believe that this verse has very significant
implications for the topic of Islamic epistemology. Not only does God
make a categorical statement about the importance of the pursuit of knowledge
in human endeavor,' but He also declares Himself to be the fountainhead
of all knowledge in the universe.
Does all knowledge come from God? If so, what is the nature of humanity's
pursuit of knowledge? Can we discern between various forms of
knowledge and make qualitative or moral distinctions between them?
These are fundamental questions that constitute the building blocks of
Islamic epistemology. In traditional Western philosophical circles, however,
Islamic epistemology has been relegated to the status of a historical artifact,
an older fonn of inquiry which has been supplanted in the current age
by Western concerns. The importance of Mama Mehdi Ha'ii Yazdi's
book The Principles of Epistemology in Islamic Philosophy: Knowledge by
Presence is precisely that it reintroduces Islamic epistemology as a living,
vibrant, and practiced tradition. For that reason alone, this is a very important
book
I am not a philosopher by training; as a consequence, I found this book
to be heavy going. But to the extent that I was able to understand it, it was
a very illuminating experience. This article addresses people such as
myself, who are concerned with issues of epistemology and yet would be
more comfomble with a weaker dose of philosophical terminology. In my ...