It has been a prevalent understanding in the intellectual tradition of Islam that man in his very constitution reflects what is there in the outer world. In other words, man is the microcosmic representation of the macrocosm, the universe at large. Some scholars of that tradition went even further to assert that what is…
Clarity in thought is certainly a sine-qua-non for one’s act of understanding and knowing. That this is so has been attested to by the very terms one has been using to refer to acts or process leading to it. “Clarify,” “explain,” “enlighten,” “illustrate,” “highlight,” “shed light,” and “illuminate” quickly come to our mind in this…
The use and abuse of discretionary power, whether real or perceived, at the different administrative and managerial levels is almost a common experience to many of us. A quick survey made on the many discussions held pertaining to the exercise of one’s discretionary power somewhat gives us the impression that much attention has been…
Anyone seriously attending to the relation that exists between the Islamic creed (akidah) and human mind is naturally tempted to ask whether there is any positive relation between a Muslim protecting his or her Islamic creed and the enhancement of his or her mental capacity. For those who regard creed as being essentially dogmatic, the…
That the migration (hijrah) of the Prophet Muhammad and his early companions from a hostile Makkah to a conducive Yathrib, thereafter renamed al-Madinah (the locus where the din—the real religion—blossoms to the full), is so consequential to Muslims has been well-attested to by their unanimous affixing it to their calendar year, thus rendering such a…
About a week ago Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, announced at the UMNO General Assembly that History would be made a must-pass SPM subject in 2013 and that it would also be a core subject in primary school starting 2014. It is clear that such a move is primarily aimed at the…
To many followers of the world’s major religions, the idea of self-examination is by no means novel. Among those who are philosophically and historically more alert, Socrates is best known for having made an apt remark, “Life unexamined is not worth living.” Muslims, by and large, have so often heard the dictum “Examine yourselves before…
With the latest debate concerning the abolishment of the UPSR and PMR, I strongly believe, we Malaysians are no stranger to calls for reform of our educational system. So often have such calls been made that they cannot but leave some general impressions. One such impression is that the system as well as its stake-holders…
Human creativity, whether exemplified as invention or innovation, has been a subject of interest to many parties. In whatever form it is manifested, it has to do with novelty. And be the novelty in science, arts, or other cultural realms, and be it ideational or practical, it is only highly regarded if and when it…
Peace and development, as key socio-economic themes, have never ceased to be important and relevant, particularly to the so-called “developing” and “under-developed” countries. Although these two themes, of late, have been viewed with suspicions, especially when they are highly politicized, taken out of their proper context, and blown out of proportion, their significance can be…
