Foundations: How Humans Know Anything
Before we argue about God, we must agree on the tools of argument. If we cannot agree that 2+2=4 or that reality is real, we cannot have a conversation. This is Epistemology.
1. The Three Sources of Knowledge
Modern secular thought often reduces knowledge to only what can be seen (Scientism). Islamic philosophy posits a more robust, three-pillared system. All three are necessary for a complete worldview.
- 1. Hiss (Sense Perception): The inputs of the five senses.Reliable for: Physical reality (Heat, Color, Distance).Limit: Cannot prove causality, morality, or logic itself.
- 2. Aql (Reason/Intellect): The processor that interprets data. It includes Self-Evident Truths (e.g., "A whole is greater than its part").Reliable for: Mathematical and logical deduction.Limit: Cannot give you historical data or detailed law.
- 3. Khabar (Testimony/Report): Knowledge transmitted from another.Reliable for: History, Geography (you believe in Antarctica without seeing it), and Prophecy.Limit: Requires verification of the source's integrity (Isnad).
2. The Attack: Deconstructing "Scientism"
The biggest intellectual blockage today is Scientism The self-refuting belief that science is the ONLY valid path to truth.
The Self-Refuting Argument
If someone says: "I only believe what can be scientifically proven."
Ask them: "Can you scientifically prove that statement?"
You cannot put that statement in a test tube. It is a philosophical statement, not a scientific one. Therefore, by its own standard, it is false.
The Category Error:
3. The Attack: Deconstructing Post-Modernism
The other extreme is Subjectivism ("My truth vs Your truth"). This destroys the possibility of any knowledge at all.
| Feature | Objective Truth (Islam) | Subjective Truth (Post-Modernism) |
|---|---|---|
| Reality | Exists independently of us. We discover it. | Constructed by us. We create it. |
| Fatal Flaw | Requires humility to submit to evidence. | Self-Refuting: claiming 'There is no absolute truth' IS an absolute truth statement. |
| Outcome | Meaning, Purpose, Law. | Chaos, Power struggles, Nihilism. |
4. Evolutionary Debunking of Atheism
If our brains are merely the product of blind evolution tailored for survival, not truth, why should we trust our logic?
Darwin himself worried: "With me the horrid doubt always arises whether the convictions of man's mind... are of any value or at all trustworthy."
Theism provides the necessary foundation for trusting Reason itself: Our minds were designed by a Rational Agent to understand the Rational Universe.
References & Further Reading
- Deliverance from Error (Al-Munqidh)The journey from skepticism to certainty.
- Where the Conflict Really LiesThe Evolutionary Argument Against Naturalism.
- The Structure of Scientific RevolutionsScience moves in paradigms, not just linear truth.