In the life of understanding of the sources of knowledge in Islam, please differentiate between different ways of knowing that you apply in your field of study. Give specific examples.

According to the classification given by Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, in Islam, knowledge is acquired through the channels of true narrative, sound senses, sound reason and intuition.  For Islamic economics, all these channels or ways of knowing are relevant.

            True narrative is divided into two kinds which are; absolute authority and relative authority. Absolute authority consists of divine authority (Al-Quran) and prophetic authority (Sunnah). For example, I identify all the verses of the Al-Quran and traditions of the Prophet, which relate to economics, including those related to man, nature, man’s relationship to nature and other humans, as well as those relating to consumption, production and distribution. This is mainly because knowledge of the Al-Quran and Sunnah becomes the core in Islamic methodology as those are the primary sources of knowledge. Thus, absolute authority is crucially used in the process of modifying Islamic economic vision.

Whereas, relative authority includes consensus of learned scholars (tawatur) and report of trustworthy people in general. In other words, relative authority is established by past scholars. While the reverence and respect given to true scholars is not disputed, we do make a distinction between the level of authority between absolute authority and relative authority. While the Al-Quran and its text are absolute, the latter, which includes works of past scholars, can be reviewed by reason and experience, based on new situations and scientific discoveries. For instance, if I am writing a research paper in the area of Islamic economics or Islamic finance, I would have to also refer to the works of the authoritative writers in these areas such as Ibnu Khaldun,Ustaz Zaharuddin Abdul Rahman and others. As I mentioned above, respect does not mean unconditional acceptance of all views of these authorities. They should be reviewed and can be accepted, modified to suit the situation under consideration.

Apart from that, the other way of knowing is through sound senses. Sound senses correspond to sense perception. By this, it means that we can acquire knowledge through the five external senses which are; touch, smell, taste, sight and hearing. Through these senses, and if they are in sound (good) condition, we can acquire knowledge of the universe by observation. Moreover, Imam Al-Ghazali also classified the senses into ‘external’ and ‘internal’ or what is he termed as ‘insight’ (basirah). The internal senses indicate the estimation and interpretation of what we see, hear, smell, touch and taste. It requires some use of reason and also the guidance of true narrative if they are to contribute to the development of Islamic economics. For instance, I ascertain assumptions and relevant variables to understand Islamic worldview as well as to establish Islamic economic vision. It may happen naturally as everyone has a worldview, even if they do not realize they have one. In fact, many scholars in the conventional economics also accept the fact that all economic analysis has to start with a ‘vision’. Thus, sound senses also act as a medium of knowledge.

As to sound reason and intuition, I have to first introduce the cognitive organ known as the intellect or ‘aql. ‘Aql is the term used in the Al-Quran to denote a spiritual organ which is at once performing all the functions of the mind and is potentially capable of performing the functions of the heart (qalb) i.e, intuition. Therefore, reason is “sound” only if it is connected to the “heart”. In this way, reason is not limited to “ratio” but is connected to intuition, which assumes the existence of a higher authority than human reason.  For example, in situations like scholars have different interpretations on certain issues, semantic analysis of the terms involved is very important to clarify the spectrum of opinions possible. In addition, sound reason and intuition play very significant roles in trying to understand these verses and traditions within the overall worldview and economic vision of Islam. In the case of semantic analysis, we would tend to support the second and third wider interpretation, while the history and situations leading to the verses and traditions would indicate a rather specific scope. Hence, it is quite clear from this example that while juristic interpretations are fundamental in developing Islamic economic thought, moral and ethical issues relating to “different possible interpretations” also vital and do vary within the spectrum of Islamic economic thought.