It is a (subjective) explanation to the CCE (Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation) work assigned by Ustad Dr. Rafeeq Hudawi for Classical Muslim Scholarship in Social Sciences, a paper in the Post Graduate course outline of Darul Huda Islamic University.
The course ‘Classical Muslim Scholarship in Social Sciences’ aims to explore why we should appreciate the contributions made by the greatest scholars of our past to the socio-cultural, economic, and political analysis of societies in their times, and to celebrate them as forerunners of social sciences. By recalling the classroom discussions or by carefully reading their original works, please write your reflection in two parts:
Part One: Summarize the key points or ideas that you found most helpful or insightful. What resonated with you, and why? Did any particular argument or idea challenge your previous understanding of the area under discussion?
Part Two: Offer a critical reflection on the class discussions or the contents of the works you read. Were there any areas you felt could be further developed or explored in more depth? What additional questions did the scope of the course raise for you? Suggest some specific ways in which the discussions and the scope of the course could be expanded and enriched.
Your answer should not exceed 2000 words.
• Font and size: Times New Roman, 12
• Max Marks: 20
• Deadline: 20.08.2024, 5 PM
Note: Upon finding similarity in your answers and suspecting sole dependence on AI, you will be awarded a nought.
Part One
Overview:
Course Introduction
Summary of the key points or ideas that I found most helpful or insightful
What resonated with me, and why?
Particular arguments or ideas that challenged my previous understanding of the area under discussion.
The ‘Classical Muslim Scholarship in Social Sciences’ offered by Darul Huda Islamic University in its Post Graduate syllabus under Social Science category is a crucial paper for research scholars of any Islamic seminary. It aims, according to the lecturer Ustad Dr. Rafeeq Hudawi, to explore ‘why we should appreciate the contributions made by the greatest scholars of our past to the socio-cultural, economic, and political analysis of societies in their times, and to celebrate them as forerunners of social sciences’. It is necessary for the research fraternity, especially of Muslim community, to investigate and reveal the buried figures of these branches of knowledge as non-Western classical scholars of any science are ignored in contemporary mainstream discussions.
Some major points that I can recall from multiple discussions led by the Ustad in the classroom are briefly elucidated here with inputs from my own reading of texts.
The introductory discussions were foundational for understanding the importance of this paper. Muslim scholars in the medieval period have profound contributions in the earliest development of contemporary natural and social sciences, however they are generally ignored especially of the second class. Western scholars of the Enlightenment period like Voltaire, Montesquieu, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Immanuel Kant and later Durkheim, Weber and Marx are always credited as classical pioneers of modern social sciences including philosophy, economics, anthropology and sociology. Similarly, works of greek philosophical thinkers Socrates, Aristotle, Plato are appreciated as origin of any scientific discipline. To challenge this knowledge-autonomy and reconstruct this biased narrative, our paper is indispensable to investigate the great scholars of social sciences and appreciate their contributions in different socio-cultural, political and economic fields. At the same time, it will be academically helpful to find out alternatives, disseminate true knowledge and preserve its integrity.
Muslims scholars of physical science and their foundational contributions are, somehow and sometimes, discussed. Jabir bin Hayyan in Astronomy, al-Khwarizmi in Mathematics, Ibn Sina in Medicine, Ibn Haythma in Physics are few of many examples in this stream. However, contributions of al-Farabi in Philosophy, al-Masodi in History, Ibn Khandun in Sociology, al-Biruni in Anthropology, al-Idrisi in Geography and many others are minimally discussed while ignoring their relevance in any contemporary discourse. Admirably, this attempt was carried out by different movements and their educational project like Islamization of Knowledge, however they are not completely successful as their methodology is occupied with Western epistemology. So, the paper in Darul Huda PG course is a step to revive their discussions and attempt to apply their works in a new way.
What I had expected was that various Muslim social scientists and their contributions would be discussed in detail in our class. However, that didn’t happen due to time and resource constraints. Only the 14th century scholar Ibn Khaldun, one of the greatest social scientist with immense contributions in sociology, historiography, economics and demography, and his magnum opus Muqaddimah (Prolegomenon) for historiography and studying a society were expounded in detail focusing on two important works - firstly Applying Ibn Khaldun of Farid al-Attad and secondly his own masterpiece Muqaddimah. And both these works resonated with me in many ways.
My viewpoint about this great scholar was very general. He was a great sociologist, known as the father of sociology. However, when I couldn’t resist completely reading the Applying Ibn Khaldun, it was clear to me that he was very scientific about his observations and harsh critic of unfiltered knowledge. Not only present society, he pioneered also for studying societies of the past thus scientifically establishing historical sociology. His various theories like Cyclical Theory which defines the rise and fall of dynasties, Transition Theory which explains social change and transition from nomadic to sedentary lifestyle, Asabiyya or Social Cohesion, etc. still remains relevant to many sociologists for studying different societies. Though I could attend all discussions of Muqaddimah due to a one month internship programme, two chapters really amazed me. Ibn Khaldun’s observation was so deep that he even accounted for the impact of food and climate on human behavior, though these observations require more scientific investigation for their reliability.
Part Two
Overview:
Contents of the work(s) that I read
Any further scopes for development and some recommendations
As mentioned before, I was introduced with a profound description of only one Muslim social scientist and two works related to him. In this part, major contents of both works were explained. Some recommendations highlighting further scopes for development of this newly introduced innovative course were also added at the end.
The first text, ‘Applying Ibn Khaldun’ by Malaysian author and educator Syed Farid Alatas was really an eye-opening and extensively engaging reading. The work is definitely, as the tagline says, a 'recovery of a lost tradition in sociology'. The author argued on the biased tendency of Eurocentrism in all branches of knowledge, especially the field in the title. Forerunners of sociology out of the West like Ibn Khaldun make this stream of social science intercivilizational, multicultural and one with a variety of points of view but, unfortunately, they are excluded, ignored and undermined. It's the author's practical attempt, which should be appreciated, that tried to break apart the 'subject–object dichotomy' of Eurocentric framework where only 'Europeans are the knowing subjects or the narrators and protagonists, while non-Europeans remain as unheard objects'. Interestingly, the author has analyzed the social change of some Arab regions of modern times including Saudi Arabia and Syria, practically applying theories of this great sociologist from this land. However, his observations concluded with some critical constraints and challenges while studying current nation-states with Khanldunian perspectives. Apart from this, the author has extensively described Ibn Khaldun, his field observations of some African dynasties, Muqaddimah and its critical analysis and carried out a wide literature review of studies on him by Arabs as well as non-Arabs.
The second text was selected portions of Muqaddimah. Though it was not direct reading experience, rather a classroom discussion. I could engage with only two chapters of this seminal work - Impact of Climate on Human Behaviour and . In a nutshell, it can be concluded that climate and food abundance leave a palpable impact on human physical as well intellectual development.
Finally - discussing further scopes for development of this paper - it is really appreciable that such an innovative course was started advancing from conventional passive reading of texts. It will really give an impetus to the participant scholars to review the historical scholarship of Muslim scholars in a new way and remake them with modern times. For example, I can now assume that Marx's conflict theory can be aligned with Ibn Khaldun’s cyclic theory or concept of modern nationalism with Ibn Khaldun’s dynastic Asabiyya. (Though, these hypothetical presumptions need to be analytically tested.) In order to practically work on these types of assumptions, the course needs to be restructured facilitating participants’ active engagement rather than smooth textual presentation of historical and biographical information. For example, a project or CCE can be given for observation of any social change with practical application of Ibn Khaldun’s perspectives. Similarly, a task can be formulated critically discussing lapses in Khaldun’s work. Secondly, the scope of this paper on Classical Muslim Scholarship in Social Science should not be limited to Ibn Khaldun and his Muqaddima. Spaces for other intellectual and multiple works should be also incorporated into the course outline. Thirdly, the presentation of PG scholars, especially for this exploratory course, should not solely depend on available text, but their own criticism, observations and opinions should be encouraged.
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