Epistemological Integration

Abstract

Nancy Roberts’ translation of Fathi Malkawi’s most recent study represents the latest addition to the corpus of literature dealing with the Islamization of Knowledge project. The author’s core argument is that a truly Islamic approach to the study of any phenomenon, whether biological, physical, or social, is definitively characterized by its inherent ability to incorporate both the advances made in scientific theory as well as those made in applied science by any person. However, there is one caveat: these advances cannot be founded upon any underlying principles that contradict the only sources of knowledge available to humanity: divine revelation and physical, psychological, and social reality. This book, which falls squarely within the branches of epistemology that deal with education theory and knowledge assessment, strives to go beyond mere academic discussion into practical application for all major fields of scientific inquiry. It is primarily addressed to Muslim scientists and educators, regardless of discipline, who seek a coherent set of principles and a clearly delineated foundational worldview, inspired by the Qur’an and Sunnah, from which to ignite intellectual and material progress within contemporary Muslim society. One of the work’s most salient features is its focus on training via exercises, activities, and problems to be dealt with in training seminars. The appendix provides clear instructions on organizing such events in order to teach the methodology of epistemological integration as explained by Malkawi. One also finds charts and diagrams that present the relationships between the sources of knowledge and the means of interpreting this knowledge, as well as the connections among epistemology, methodology, and worldview interspersed throughout the text and then presented again at the end for convenience. The first chapter, “Concepts of Relevance to Epistemological Integration,” presents the concept of tawḥīd, God’s singular uniqueness as defined in the