This paper attempts to show how the object of prayer is linked to knowledge, as knowledge from a theological standpoint finds its root in God, and prayer from an Islamic perspective is seen as a direct communion with God. I will look at this from a cosmological aspect, with regard to the idea of man being created in the image of God and the Adamic potential of man. I will also look at the different levels of knowledge and what knowledge is for both Qadi Abu Bakr Ibn’ Arabi and Abu Hamid Al Ghazali. Ghazali emphasizes the concept of the heart being a vessel of knowledge and uses light as a metaphor for knowledge, I will try to outline how to attain a state where knowledge is possible by means of the heart, as well as showing from a cosmological perspective that the function of humans is to be in constant remembrance of God, thus constant prayer, through the idea of the divine names of God.
Tag: Islam
The territory of my project is theology and the object is idolatry. The purpose of my project is to research Islamic monotheism or tawhid and aspects of Islamic mysticism, namely notions such as the purification of the heart (tassawuf) and analyse its relationship with idolatry and polytheism. Monotheistic and polytheistic traditions differ in their interpretation and engagement of the multiplicity of relationships between the transcended and created. The idea of a transcendent God is prevalent in many polytheistic traditions exemplified in Hinduism, Neoplatonism, Egyptian and Babylonian traditions. Thus polytheistic traditions cannot be reduced to the opposite of the common monotheistic belief of “One God”. On the contrary, unity has always been an important notion in the traditions stated above, yet these religions do worship a plethora of gods, hence unity in this case does not mean the sole worship of one God. I will attempt to explore and answer two questions: If many polytheistic traditions have a belief in a transcendent God, why is it wrong to practice idolatry? And can a person be a monotheist, but also believe in many Gods? The position from which I will answer these questions is that of a Muslim, from which I will assume that polytheism is wrong and considered the worst sin one can perform in Islam. I will also assume that the Qur’anic narrative of idolatry is correct and will use it as the underlying foundation of my project.
I will attempt to answer the two questions stated above by means of a interpretative methodology, through the reading of Sufi mystic Abū ‘Abdillāh Muḥammad ibn ‘Alī ibn Muḥammad ibn `Arabī. Upon reading the former, I will highlight his cosmological system of wahdat-al wujud (The Unity of Being) to establish an understanding of the transcendent God and explore the concept of unity. For the second chapter, which concerns itself with notion of monotheistic idolatry, my primary reading will be Al-Raghib al-Isfahani ‘al-Dhar‘ia’ and his notion of the purification of the heart and its relation to idolatry.
On September 16, 2022, 22 year old Iranian woman Mahsa Amini died in police custody in Tehran, Iran’s capital, following her arrest for wearing her veil incorrectly. She died as a result of the strict enforcement of the veil in The Islamic Republic of Iran, a law which has been in effect since 1983. In this dissertation I conduct a genealogy of the veil in order to understand its development as a moral phenomenon, following the genealogical methodology employed by Friedrich Nietzsche in On the Genealogy of Morality. I examine the relationship between modesty, hair and sexuality in order to determine why the veil is so highly valued in Iran. I adopt Nietzsche’s theory of perspectivism in order to overcome the Western misconception that the veil is necessarily oppressive, and instead argue that it is the Iranian veiling laws which are oppressive. I then analyse Edward Said’s Orientalism, focusing on the ways in which the West has represented the East according to Said, and the implications of Orientalism for Western perceptions of the veil. I suggest the adoption of a postcolonial feminist attitude in order to redefine the problem in Iran as a feminist problem, not a religious one.
‘As an “Islamic” movement, it can set the entire region afire, overturn the most unstable regimes, and disturb the most solid. Islam – which is not simply a religion, but an entire way of life, and adherence to a history and a civilisation – has a good chance to become a giant powder keg, at the level of hundreds of millions of men.’ Foucault predicted that the revolution in Iran would not follow the model of other modern revolutions, writing that it was instead organised around a greatly different concept which he called ‘political spirituality’. He acknowledged the huge power of the new discourse of militant Islam for the world, not just Iran. Foucault indicated that the new Islamist movement pointed at a fundamental cultural, political and social break with the modern Western order, such a discourse would amend the ‘global strategic equilibrium’. – Foucault
Object: Islam in the West. Concepts: Liberalism, Pluralism, Postmodernism. Thinkers: Bell, Vattimo, Habermas. Main Objective: This project will critically examine the normative relationship between Islam and the West in order to explore the metaphysical divide which purports to propel the two world-views into a so-called “clash of civilisations”. Intended Knowledge Outcomes:By engaging in this project, I intend to accomplish four objectives: Firstly, I seek to research the recent emergence of Islam in the West as a produce of post-colonial migration. Secondly, I aim to become acquainted with the motivations for its growing influence among the “disenchanted” Muslim communities within the West. As a third objective, I plan to use the thought of Daniel Bell, Gianni Vattimo, and Jurgen Habermas to investigate the arguments for and against liberalism, pluralism, and postmodernism. Finally, I wish to demonstrate the connection between the philosophical debate over postmodernism and the contemporary debate on Islam and its place within the Western liberal model.