Understanding ‘God as Reality’: Analysis of the Ontological Approach in the Tradition of Islamic Philosophy and Sufism
Abstract
Abstract Views: 548
In contrast to the West, which considers God as a myth and negates values about reality and truth, the Muslim philosophers and Sufis base their knowledge on the concept of God that has been established in Islam. This article describes the approach of the Sufis and the Muslim philosophers regarding God as reality and truth. By using the descriptive analysis method, this study draws conclusions based on various arguments: first, there is a meeting point between the two, especially in terms of 'al-Haqq' as one of the 'Names' (asmā) of Allah which also means 'reality' and 'truth' which are linguistically unified. Therefore, everything that is called 'reality' has to do with the existence of God which provides wisdom behind all reality as God's creation. Because God created reality with a 'true' purpose. Second, despite the fundamental differences in various worldviews, the West has never assumed that God is Reality in itself because its worldview has negated the Diversity of metaphysical reality. This is also affirmed, only at the metaphysical level as 'speculative science' or 'noumena' in Kant's account. Third, different from the West in Islam, there are various treasures of intellectual property discussions about God as Reality. Although there are many schools in understanding God as Reality, the Muslims have almost the same opinion because they affirm revelation as the only authoritative source of explanation for the concept of God.
Keywords: Reality, Truth, Muslim philosophers, Sufism, al-Haqq, Worldview, Epistemology
Downloads
References
Abu ‘Abdurrahman, al-Khalil Ibn Ahmad. Mu’jām Al-‘Ain Tahqiq Mahdi Al-Makhzumi. Dar al-Maktabah al-Hilal, n.d.
Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Ṭūsī, Al-Ghazālī. Al-Arba’īn Fī Uṣhūl Al-Dīn. Edited by al-Shaykh Mustafa Abu Al-‘Ala. Cairo: Maktabah al-Jundi, n.d.
—. “Al-Ḥikmah Fī Makhlūqātillāh.” In Al-Qusūr Awāli Min Rasā’il Al-Ghazāli, edited by M. Mustafa Abu Al-‘Ala, III. Cairo: Maktabah al-Jundi, 1972.
—. Al-Iqtisād Fi Al-I’tiqād. Edited by Insaf Ramadhan. Beirut: Maktabah Kutaibah, 2003.
—. Al-Maqsād Al-Asnā’ Min Asmā’ Allāh Al-Husnā Tahqiq Mahmud Al-Nawawi. Cairo: Maktabah al-Kulliyat al-Azhariyyah, n.d.
—. Asās Al-Qiyās. Edited by Fahd ibn Muhammad al-Sarhān. Riyād: Maktabah al-Abikan, 1993.
—. Faiṣāl Tafriqah Bayna Islām Wa Al-Zandaqah. Edited by Sulaymān Dunyā. Cairo: Daar al-Minhaj, 1961.
—. Tahāfut Al-Falāsifah. Edited by Michael E. Marmura. Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 2000.
Acikgenc, Alparslan. “An Evaluation of Violence from Islam’s Perspective.” Alternatives :Turkish Journal Of International Relations, 2015. https://doi.org/10.21599/atjir.10072.
Al-Attas, Syed Muhammad Naquib. Islam and Secularism. Kuala Lumpur: ABIM, 1978.
—. “Prolegomena to the Metaphysics of Islam.” Kuala Lumpur: International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization, 1995.
Ansari, Abdallah. Manāzil Al-Sā’irīn Tahqiq A.Shirvani. Iran: Intisyarat-i Furughi, 1380.
—. Tabaqāt Al-Ṣūfiyyah. Tehran: Intisyarat-i Furughi, 1380.
Aristotle. The Metaphysics, Translated: Hugh Tredennick. London: Harvard University Press, 1933. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4159/DLCL.aristotle-metaphysics.1933
Armas, Adnin. “Wacana Metafisika Al-Attas (Discourse on Al-Attas’ Metaphysics).” ISLAMIA: Jurnal Pemikiran Dan Peradaban Islam XI, no. 2 (2017): 29–35.
Asad, Muhammad. Islam at the Crossroads. Kuala Lumpur: The Other Press, 2005.
Bagir, Haidar. Epistemologi Tasawwuf: Sebuah Pengantar (An Introduction to Sufi Epistemology). Bandung: Mizan Pustaka, 2017.
Carrier, Martin. “Values and Objectivity in Science: Value-Ladenness, Pluralism and the Epistemic Attitude.” Science and Education, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-012-9481-5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-012-9481-5
Ceylan, Yasin. Theology and Tafsir in the Major Works of Fakhr Al-Din Al-Razi. Kuala Lumpur: International Institute of Islamic Thought & Civilization(ISTAC), 1996.
Chittick, William C. The Self-Disclosure of God: Principles of Ibn Al-Arabi’s Cosmology. Edited by Seyyed Hossein Nasr. New York: State University of New York, 1998.
Daiber, Hans. “The Way from God’s Wisdom to Science in Islam: Modern Discussions and Historical Background.” In Islamic Science and the Contemporary World: Islamic Science in Contemporary Educations, edited by Baharudin Ahmad. Kuala Lumpur: ISTAC-IIUM, 2008.
Daud, Wan Mohd Nor Wan. “Islamization of Contemporary Knowledge: A Brief Comparison Between Al-Attas and Fazlur Rahman.” Al-Shajarah: Journal of the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC) 2, no. 1 (1997): 1–19.
Edwards, Paul. The Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Edited by Paul Edwards. New York: Macmillan, 1967.
Al-Farabi, Abu Nasir Muhammad bin al-Farakh. Arā’ Ahl Al-Madīnah Al- Fādilah Tahqiq Al-Kurdi. Second. Cairo, 1948.
—. Fuṣūl Muntaza’ah Tahqiq Fawzi M. Najjar. Beirut: Daar al-Masyriq Publisher, 1971.
—. Kitāb Al-Siyāsah Al-Madaniyah Tahqiq FM. Najjar. Beirut: Dar El-Mashreq Publisher, 1964.
Al-Faruqi, Ismail Raji. L-Tawḥīd: Its Implications for Thought and Life. IV. Virginia: International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1992.
Finkielkraut, Alain. The Defeat of The Mind, Translated by Judith Friedlander. New York: Columbia University Press, 1995.
Franke, Felix Klein. “Al-Kindi.” In History of Islamic Philosophy, edited by Seyyed Hossein Nasr and Oliver Leaman. London: Routledge, 1996.
Al-Ghazali, Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad. Iḥyā’ Ulūmiddīn, Tahqiq Abdul Aziz Sirwān. Beirut: Dar al-Qalam, n.d.
Guenon, Rene. “A Material Civilization.” In The Betrayal of Tradition; Essays on the Spiritual Crisis of Modernity, edited by John Herlihy. world Wisdom inc, 2005.
—. Crisis in the Modern World. Pakistan: Suhail Academy, 1981.
Hamid, Fahmy Zarkasyi. “ANALYZING ISLAMOPHOBIA AS HATE SPEECH: AL-ATTAS’ VIEWS ON THE CORRUPTION OF KNOWLEDGE.” Al Qalam 36, no. 2 (2019): 1–18. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32678/alqalam.v36i2.2313
Hawking, Stephen, and L. Mlodinow. The Grand Design. London: Bantam Press, 2010.
Herlihy, John. The Essential Rene Guenon; Metaphysics, Tradition, and the Crisis of Modernity. Edited by John Herlihy. Indiana: World Wisdom Inc and Shopia Perennnis, 2009.
Hye, Abdul. Aliran Asy’ariyah” in Aliran-Aliran Filsafat Islam: Mu’tazilah, Asy’ariyyah, Maturidiyyah, Thahawiyah, Zhahiriyah, Ikhwan Al-Safa (The Asy’arite in Islamic Philosophy and Theology: Mu’tazilite, Asy’arite, Maturidite, Thahawiya, Zahirite, Ikhwan Al-Safa). Edited by M. M. Sharif. Bandung: Nuansa Cendekia, 2006.
Ibn Arabi, Abu Abdillah Muhammad Ibn Ali Ibn Muhammad. Al-Futūḥāt Al-Makkiyya. Edited by Ibrāhīm Madkour and Usman Yahya. Cairo: al-Hay`at al-Mashriyah al-’Ammah li al-Kutub, 1985.
—. Fuṣūṣ Al-Ḥikam Tahqiq Abu Al-‘Ala ‘Afif. Cairo: Dār al-Kitāb al-Arabī, 1946.
Ibn Rusyd, Abu al-Walid Muhammad bin Ahmad. Faṣl Al-Maqāl Mā Bayna Al-Syarī’ah Wa Al-Ḥikmah Min Ittiṣāl Tahqiq Muhammad ‘Immarah. Cairo: Daar al-Ma’arif, 1969.
—. Risālah Al-Atsār Al-‘Ulūwiyyah Tahqiq Jirar Jihamy. Beirut: Daar al-Fikr, 1994.
Ibn Sina, Abu Ali al-Husain Ibn Abdullah Ibn al-Hasan Ibn Ali. Al-Sifā’ Al-Ilāhiyyāt Tahqiq Qanwatiy Wa Said Zayid. Cairo: Maktabah al-Azhariyah, 1960.
—. Kitāb Al-Najāh Fī Al-Ḥikmah Al-Mantiqiyyah Wa Al-Ilahiyyah. Edited by Majid Fakhri. Beirut: Dar al-Afaq al-Jadidah, 1982.
—. The Methapysics of Healing, (Al-Syifā’ Al-Ilāhiyyāt), Annoted by: Michel M. Marmura. Edited by Davis Morgan. Utah: Bringham Young University Press, 2005.
Ibnu Mandzur, Muhammad bin Mukrim bin Ali Abu al-Fadhl Jamal al-Din. Lisān Al-Arab. Vol. 14 p. Beirut: Daar al-Shadir, n.d.
Iqbal, Mohammad. Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam. Lahore: Peace Publication, 2015.
Izutsu, Toshihiko. Creation and the Timeless Order of Things: Essays in Islamic Mystical Philosophy. Pakistan: Suhail Academy, 2005.
—. Struktur Metafisika Sabzawari. Bandung: Penerbit Pustaka, 2003.
Izutsu, Tosihiko. Sufism and Taoism: A Comparative Study of Key Philosophical Concepts. London: University California Press, 1984.
Al-Jurjani, ‘Ali Ibn Muhammad ‘Ali al-Zain al-Sharif. Kitāb Al-Ta’rīfāt Tahqiq Jama’ah Min Al-‘Ulama.’ Beirut: Dar al-Kutb al-‘Ilmiyyah Bairut, 1983.
Kalin, Ibrahim. Knowledge in Later Islamic Philosophy: Mulla Sadra on Existence, Intellect, and Intuition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5840/islamicphil2010610
Kartanegara, Mulyadi. Menyelami Lubuk Tasawwuf (In the Deep of Sufism). Jakarta: Erlangga, 2006.
Khakim, Usmanul, Teguh Kurniyanto, Mahendra Utama Cahya Ramadhan, Muhammad Habiburrahman, and Muhammad Iksan Rahmadian. “God and Worldview According to Al-Attas and Wall.” TSAQAFAH 16, no. 2 (2020). DOI: https://doi.org/10.21111/tsaqafah.v16i2.4853
Khatoon, Jamila. The Place of God Man and Universe in the Philosophic System of Iqbal. Karachi: Iqbal Academy Pakistan, 1963.
Al-Khusaini, Muhammad Ibn Muhammad Ibn ‘Abd Razaq. Tāj Al-‘Ursmin Jawāhir Al-Qāmūs. Dar al-Hidayah, n.d.
Al-Kindi, Abu Yusuf Ya’qub Ibn Ishaq al-Sabbah. Kitāb Al-Kindi Ilā Al-Mu’taṣim Billāh Fī Al-Falsafah Al-Ūla, Tahqiq Ahmad Fuad Al-Ahwani. Cairo, 1948.
Kuswanjono, Arqom. Integrasi Ilmu Dan Agama Perspektif Filsafat Mulla Sadra (The Integration between Science and Religion: Mulla Sadra’s Perspective). Psychological Bulletin, 2010. https://doi.org/.1037//0033-2909.I26.1.78.
Lizzini, Olga. “Utility and Gratuitousness of Metaphysics: Avicenna, Ilāhiyyāt I, 3.” Quaestio; Journal of the History of Metaphysics 5 (2005): 307–44. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1484/J.QUAESTIO.2.301835. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1484/J.QUAESTIO.2.301835
Muhic, Ferid. “Postmodern Theory and Its Two Major Self-Deceptions.” Al-Shajarah; Journal of ISTAC 5, no. 1 (2000): 5.
Muthahhari, Murtadha. Theoretical Philosophy and Practical Philosophy: An Introduction to Islamic Philosophy. Yogyakarta: Rausyan Fikr, 2010.
Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. Man and Nature; The Crisis of Modern Man. Australia: George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1968.
—. Three Muslim Sages: Avicenna - Suhrawardi - Ibn ’Arabi. First Prin. Delmar, New York: Caravan Books, 1964.
Nasution, Harun. Filsafat Dan Mistisisme Dalam Islam (Philosophy and Mysticism in Islam). Jakarta: Penerbit Bulan Bintang, 1978.
Radder, Hans. “Rethinking Science and Values.” International Studies in the Philosophy of Science, 2010. https://doi.org/10.1080/02698590903467143. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02698590903467143
Rowson, and Everett K. A Muslim Philosopher on the Soul and Its Fate: Al-‘Amiri’s Kitāb Al-Amād ‘alā Al-Abād. New Haven: American Oriental Society, 1988.
Sa’ad al-Din, Al-Taftazani. Syarḥ Al-‘Aqā’Id: A Commentary on the Creed of Islam. New York: Columbia University Press, 1950.
Sabil, Jabbar. “Masalah Ontologi Dalam Kajian Keislaman (Ontological Problems in Islamic Studies).” Jurnal Ilmiah Islam Futura, 2014. https://doi.org/10.22373/jiif.v13i2.67. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22373/jiif.v13i2.67
Smith, Margareth. Readings From the Mystics of Islam. New York, 1950.
Al-Tahanawiy, Muhammad bin Aliy bin al-Qadhi Muhammad Hamid bin Muhammad Shabir al-Faruqiy al-Hanafiy. Mausu’atu Kasyaf Ishtilahat Al-Funun Wa Al-’Ulum Tahqiq Rafiq Al-’Ajam Wa Aliy Dahruj. Beirut: Maktabah Lubnan Nasyirun Publisher, 1996.
Al-Thahawi, Abi Ja’far. Al-‘Aqīdah Al-Ṭaḥāwiyyah, Tahqiq Majdi Abu ‘Arisy. Beirut: Dar al-Bayariq, 2001.
Zarkasyi, Hamid Fahmy. “Ibn Taymiyyah’s Critique of Aristotelian Metaphysics.” Jurnal Akidah & Pemikiran Islam 11, no. 1 (2010): 167-90. https://adminconference.um.edu.my/index.php/afkar/article/view/5805.
—. “Liberalisasi Pemikiran Islam: Gerakan Bersama Missionaris, Orientalis Dan Kolonialis (Liberalization of Islamic Thought: Study on Missionary, Orientalist, and Colonialist Movements).” TSAQAFAH 5, no. 1 (2009): 1. https://doi.org/10.21111/tsaqafah.v5i1.145. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21111/tsaqafah.v5i1.145
Copyright (c) 2022 Hamid Fahmy Zarkasyi, Jarman Arroisi, Mohammad Syam’un Salim, Muhammad Taqiyuddin
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal.
.png){kind=icon}
