Islam and
Dialectical Reasoning
By Dr. Ibrahim B. Syed*
Louisville, KY
When
I read the story of Ibrahim (AS) in the Qur'an
and his arguments with his people, his father
and King Nimrod, I got the impression that his
mind was like the mind of a Nobel Prize winner
in the Sciences.
Out of more than 720 prizes awarded since 1901,
more than 130, or about 18 percent, have gone
to Jewish laureates. Jews comprise only 0.3 to
0.5 percent of the world's population. Muslims
are one-fifth or 20 % of the world's population,
and they should have won 144 Nobel Prizes, but
have won only NINE. Ibrahim (AS) was neither a
Jew nor a Christian. He was a Hanif or an upright
man.
Most of the Nobel Prizes are won by Americans
every year, particularly in Physics, Chemistry,
Medicine and Economics. What accounts for their
success?
The reason is America has the best institutions:
educational, research, think-tanks, industrial,
government, military and the vast resources to
back these institutions.
We are blessed that we live in this country and
have access to these fine institutions.
Students come from all over the world to get American
degrees. Students from India are the largest in
number approximating 100,000. Majority of the
PhD students in America are foreigners.
What makes the American educational system so
unique?
The system imparts critical and creative thinking,
develops metacognition (knowledge of one's own
thinking processes and products or anything related
to them), promotes scientific enquiry, dialectical
reasoning (the art or practice of arriving at
the truth by the exchange of logical arguments),
problem solving, logical analysis, designing and
composing, scholarly debates; and evidence-based
knowledge.
In many countries rote learning is emphasized
– mechanical repetition of something so
that it is remembered, often without understanding
its meaning or significance.
In the Qur’an in The Story of Ibrahim (AS)
we find the American educational values: Prophet
Ibrahim (AS) reminded his people that there was
only one God, the Lord of all creation, who controlled
life, death and resurrection. He told his own
father, Azar, to desist from worshipping idols.
He said he had learned from his own experience
(that is using dialectical reasoning) that God
alone was worthy of worship. He was shown by God
'the Kingdom of the heavens and the earth so that
he might be convinced of the faith in his Creator.
An example of metacognition and dialectical reasoning
is as follows.
When the night was dark, Ibrahim (AS) saw a star;
he said to himself, “This must be the Lord.”
But soon the star set and his faith was shaken.
Then he saw the moon rising in the sky, “This
is the Lord,” he said. However, when it
waned, he lost faith in it. Likewise, when the
sun rose, brighter than everything, he was convinced
that it was the Lord. But the sun also set, and
Ibrahim (AS) cried: “I set my face against
all these. I repudiate every other kind of worship
except the worship of God, Creator of all that
is in the heavens and the earth, i.e., The Creator
of the Universe (Surah 6: 76-79)
An example of logical analysis:
Turning to his father, Ibrahim(AS) asked what
the images were to which he and his people were
devoted. Azar replied that they worshipped what
their fathers had worshipped. Ibrahim (AS) said:
'Then assuredly, you and your fathers are clearly
in error.' Here, Ibrahim (AS) is opposing his
own father. The Qur’an clearly states not
to obey your parents if your parents deviate from
the Qur’anic Guidance.
The following illustrates an example of scholarly
debate, opposing points of view, and logical reasoning
with King Nimrod.
Ibrahim (AS) debates with Nimrod, the King of
Iraq, not to forget that it was God who gave him
the Kingdom and power and glory; but the King,
in his arrogance, denied it and declared that
he determined the life and death of his subjects.
Ibrahim (AS) had then asked him: 'Allah makes
the sun rise from the east; can you make it rise
from the west?' The King had no answer. He sentenced
Abraham(AS) to be burnt alive.
An example of evidence-based knowledge and scientific
inquiry is the following Ayah from the Qur'an,
Surah Baqarah, 2: 260:
Call to mind the other event also, when Ibrahim
(AS) said, "My Lord, show me how Thou bringeth
the dead back to life?" He (Allah SWT) said,
"Have you no faith in this?" Ibrahim
(AS) humbly replied, "I do believe but I
ask this to reassure my heart." (That is,
"I want that peace of mind which is gained
by actual experience." ). Allah said, "Well,
take four birds and tame them with yourself and
then (cut them into pieces) and place a piece
of each of them on each hill. Then call them and
they will come running to you; know this for certain
that Allah is All-Powerful, All-Wise."
Furthermore
we read in Surah, Ar-Raad, 13: 3:
"And it is He Who has spread out the earth,
and fixed the immovable mountains in it, and made
the rivers flow on it. He has created in pairs
every kind of fruit, and He covers the day with
the veil of night. Surely there are great Signs
(Verses of the Qur'an and Natural Phenomena) in
these for those who reflect (Think, Ponder) upon
them. The Qur'an repeatedly provokes and challenges
the reader to think and contemplate the signs
of Allah so that she/he can understand."
I am not aware of any religion that asks its followers
to think, reflect and ponder. Allah (SWT) is challenging
the believers to use their greatest gift, that
is aql or mind.
*President, Islamic Research Foundation International,
Inc. Louisville, KY.
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