Home Journal List Al-Hikmat: A Journal of Philosophy Volume 28 Article Details

THE IDEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND OF RATIONALITY IN ISLAM

Abstract

Islam the religion of Muslims, founded on Qu’rānic revelations transmitted through the Prophet Muhammad (570-632 AD). The Arabic roots slm, convey the ideas of safety, obedience, submission, commitment, and dedication. The word Islam signifies the self-surrender to Allah that characterizes a Muslim’s relationship with God. Islamic tradition records that in 610 and 632 CE Prophet Muhammad began to receive revelations from God through the mediation of Angel Gabriel. The revelations were memorized and recorded word by word, and are today found in Arabic text of the Qur’ān in the precisely the manner God intended.1 The community, working on the basis of pieces of text written ‘on palm leaves or flat stones or in the heart of men’, compiled the text some thirty years after the death of Prophet Muhammad.2 All the Muslims assert unequivocally the divine authorship of the Qur’ān, Muhammad is but the messenger through which it was revealed. Theoretically, the Qur’ān is the primary source of guidance in the Islamic community (Ummah). The Qur’ān text does not, however, provide solutions for every specific problem that might arise. To determine norm of practice, Muslims turned to the lives of Prophet Muhammad and his early companions, preserved in Sunnah, the living tradition of the community. Originally the practicing of Sunnah varied from place to place, reflecting the pre-Islamic local customs of particular region. By the 9th century, however, the diversity evident in local traditions was branded as an innovation (bid’a). Efforts therefore were made to collect record in writing and authenticate traditions ascribed to the Prophet and his early companions. These written compendia of traditions (Hadith) codified the Sunnah and eliminated any further need for reliance on divergent local sources. The two most important collections of Hadith are those of al-Bukhari (d. 870) and Muslim (d. 875).

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