We are living in troubling times thats for sure, society seems to lack the glue that holds all people together. I whole-heartedly feel there is no way one individual can master all disciplines, and satisfy all the the tastes and desires of people. The striving for character is what beautifies us human beings, like dewdrops on the pettles of a rose. Material Success is the goal for the great majority of people. It is only with God’s mercy that we strengthen our stance, and seek tranquility of the final hour. The pearls of wisdom are vanishing, dropping like the beads of a broken tasbeeh. However, the passion for continence and excellence should be present in a society, for people and society to progress and thrive. The interconnected digital world we live in provides several opportunities to grow and refine oneself unlike any other generation has ever experienced.

Islam, as a revealed monotheistic religion is based on tradition or Naql, the combination of the Quranic Scripture (The speech of God) and the Hadith (the written record of the Prophet Muhammad P.B.U.H’s speech, living habits, and judgments. Via the use of ‘Aql – the rational faculty of the soul or mind,’ humanity can rise above its animal stature. For practicing Muslims this presents a big challenge in an increasingly polarized world, where one has to be within the confinement of their religious beliefs, as well as enjoy and utilize some of the things that the modern world has to offer.

In our time of digitization, it seems like humanistic principles have taken a back seat, though they are fundamental to the people around the world, otherwise we can not solve the global problems of mankind. At the present time, when the world globalization processes put before mankind new issues and identifies possible solutions.

I used to be a huge fan of Modernity, i used to be a die-hard fan of it, collect it, organize it, but i just became bored of it, it wasn’t really taking me anywhere in terms of thought or progress. Suddenly Modernity was no longer relevant, it didnt have the depth, realism or energy that would make me thrive as a person. The tools for success i felt might be somewhere else, this is when i started to diversify to multiple streams of academic and intellectual revenue. My mind began to wonder, i felt as if was seeking a cognitive challenge. Modernity did’nt seem authentic, it just felt too plastic, not worthy enough.

While most prefer to deny all life as just spontaneous and a product of human choice. I knew as a Muslim that the ‘Dunya’ is not a random occurence. I always believed in the role of ‘Predestination’ or ‘Qadr.’ The blessings of life, and the Greatness of God is beyond the capacity of the human mind to comprehend or understand. Mankind attempts to understand God via various means, Religion, Poetry and some via Science. However we experience reality through a few limited senses, our minds perceive the world as space through 3 dimensions. God is beyond all of this. What we perceive as reality is a manifestation of God’s will. God is beyond Space and Time. However those who are fearful and humble attempt to understand his greatness via human logic, reasoning, and experience.

I am not one of those who like to ignore facts when trying to understand things from a theocentric perspective. But additionally i feel it would be inappropriate to understand God’s speech in isolation from the intellectual culture of the West, and current affairs in general. In many conversations i have felt when some quotes ‘God’s Word’ it is taken as emotive, thereby inadvertently reinforcing the claims of the secularists that religion is irrational. However as a Muslim, i don’t believe that Islam is irrational. Because i know human knowledge is very limited in comparison to God’s knowledge, and God reveals to people what he chooses to.

As a matter of fact, i believe, Alhumdullilah that the Qur’anic narrative which Muslims consider as “God’s speech” plays a great role in socio-historical reality in which we find ourselves today. I firmly believe that Muslims have a very important and unique role to offer to the modern/postmodern conversation which the Atheists/Secular cannot hope to effectively engage in modernity/post-modernity.

Muslims have a holistic vision of knowledge, and it manifests as ‘Tawhid’ or the one-ness of God. If you attempt to explore ‘Tawhid’ you would realize it is a living force in the realm of philosophy and epistemology. ‘Tawhid’ refers to Monotheism in theological language and the Unity of Being in Philosophy. As per the development of human knowledge from the early-modern era to the late-modern reveals an interesting and undeniable trend: in spite of intense efforts to keep it knowledge compartmentalized, knowledge is moving towards a holistic and unitary state. All top scientists are working on coming up with a Unified theory.

I can give you some examples. The most upto date understanding of physics has demonstrated that the division between matter and energy is an artificial division, matter is merely energy trapped in a specific dimension of space-time. Emerging research in the field of neuroscience and psychology demonstrates that the division between rationality and emotions is an artificial division, meaning the individuals whose emotional hemispheres in the brain become dysfunctional become incapable of rational thought. This means that a healthy emotional life is necessary for productive “rational” thought. Which Islam defines as the basic unit of a family, clearly defined as a man and a women. Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.

The latest research in mathematics and computer programming proves that there is no such thing as a random event putting to rest Chaos theory. Thats why the implications of the debate between freewill and predestination are intriguing indeed. I hope my examples that i have given serve as an illustration for you, because they are all differing manifestations of the same unitary phenomenon. If you read about the influential figures of the Islamic heritage such as Janab Israr Ahmed and the Great Muhammad Iqbal. They themselves have written and discussed about such issues of Physics, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, Philosophy, and Psychology, though all are different disciplines, they all converge on a common unitary point – God

To be able to make the connections between different disciplines, one has to think from a multi-disciplinary mindset. To believe in Quran as the Word of God, requires Imaan. It is a life-long journey for each and every muslim to come to terms with what God has revealed to us. Our Scriptures have informed us about the world of nature, the human self, how humans should live, and what the law should be. If someone wants to challenge that, or prove they know a better way, than so be it. If they choose to rebel against the scripture there will be a grave punishment for them in here-after.

Science/Facts without Philosophy and Theo-centricity create a dangerous vacuum of tunnel vision and intellectual myopia. You can disagree with how i see the world, but you cannot say that way you see the world is superior, than how i see it, and vice-versa also hold true.

#CognitiveChallenges #Disruption #Innovation #HumanCondition #Theology #Sociology #Adam #Eve #Humanism #Globalization #Modernity #PostModernity #SpaceTime