2.3.2 The Myth of Intellectual Decline
“Bahāʾ al-dīn al-ʿĀmilī.” Wikimedia Commons.
In a recent article on philosophy, faith, and civilization, Shaykh Hamza Yusuf presents a compelling case to reinvigorate the study of metaphysics on account of the critical role it can play in establishing reasoned faith and a more ethical society (The Maydan, 2017).
Abdurrahman Mihirig, then a graduate student at Harvard University, contests Shaykh Hamza Yusuf’s assumption of Islamic intellectual decline in this article in The Maydan, a publication of George Mason University. We highly recommend students also read the original essay in Renavotio by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, president of Zaytuna College, as a supplemental material.
Read: The Myth of Intellectual Decline: A Response to Shaykh Hamza Yusuf // The Maydan
Guiding Questions:
- What reasons does the author give in contesting the myth of intellectual decline?
- How has Sunni scholarship understood the meaning and scope of falsafa?
- The author argues that Ibn Khaldun did not reject metaphysics writ large, but a particular approach to metaphysics. What kind of metaphysics was this? And why is this point critical in the argument the author is making?
- What is nominalism, and what role did the Ash’arites have in its influence?
- Why does the author believe that it is incorrect to say that nominalism led to the ills of modernity?
- Based on the information provided, do you think Ibn Taymiyya was a nominalist?
- Are intellectual contestations such as this essay conversation between Mihirig and Shaykh Hamza Yusuf important to our practice and understanding of tradition? How so?
Photo: “Bahāʾ al-dīn al-ʿĀmilī.” Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons user Ashrf1979. Public domain.
