Reading the Signs: A Qur’anic Perspective on Thinking
Mohammad Hashim Kamali
In this thought-provoking paper, renowned Islamic scholar Mohammad Hashim Kamali explores how the Qur’an approaches reason, rationality, and critical thinking.
Drawing on the Qur’anic signs — the ayat — Kamali examines the guidelines Islam offers for a mode of thinking that remains pure in its purpose and free from reductionist influences. A central argument is that thinking without a moral and faith-based foundation risks losing its direction and ultimately becoming harmful to human welfare.
The paper covers a range of important topics, including:
∙ The sources of knowledge in the Qur’an
∙ Factors that impede rational thinking
∙ The golden age of Islamic scientific creativity and its decline
∙ Ijtihad and its place in Islamic thought
∙ A comparison of Islamic and Western philosophical perceptions of rationality
Reading the Signs is published as part of the Occasional Papers Series (no. 26) by IIIT and the International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies (IAIS) Malaysia — and is essential reading for anyone interested in Islamic philosophy, epistemology, and the Qur’anic approach to intellectual and spiritual development.

ISBN: 978-1-56564-986-6

Forfatter: Mohammad Hashim Kamali
Udgiver: International Institute of Islamic Thought (2018)
Sider: 30
Indbinding: paperback