{"id":22134,"date":"2009-05-26T01:51:54","date_gmt":"2009-05-26T01:51:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/new-wp\/?p=22134"},"modified":"2009-05-26T01:51:54","modified_gmt":"2009-05-26T01:51:54","slug":"tadbir-and-tadabbur-as-outcome-oriented-thinking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/tadbir-and-tadabbur-as-outcome-oriented-thinking\/","title":{"rendered":"Tadbir and Tadabbur as Outcome-Oriented Thinking"},"content":{"rendered":"
We have stated earlier (see\u00a0IKIM Views<\/em>\u00a0of 28 October and 23 December 2008) that there has been unanimity among Muslim scholars with regard to the meaning of\u00a0tadbir,<\/em>\u00a0a major Arabic term signifying administration, management, or governance.<\/div>\n

To illustrate the aforementioned, we also related the definitions offered by three past Muslim scholars, namely: al-Baydawi (d. 791H); al-Jurjani (d. 816H); and al-Tahanawi (d. 1158H).<\/p>\n

Their definitions, just like those of other Muslim luminaries, at the very least highlight two fundamental points regarding the act or process which may correctly be referred to as\u00a0tadbir<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Firstly, purpose or end is both integral and central to such an act or process.<\/p>\n

Secondly, in line with the paramount role of\u00a0tawhid<\/em>\u00a0(unity as well as unifying) in Islam, the act or process not only encompasses two different operational modes—that is, knowledge and practice—but also integrates both the foregoing into an organic single.<\/p>\n

At the level of knowledge, it comprises one’s act of deliberating the possible outcomes with every intention of knowing what is good.<\/p>\n

At the practical stage, it involves the act of executing something in order to obtain good results.<\/p>\n

It should also be noted that both knowledge and practice involved in the process of\u00a0tadbir<\/em>\u00a0do not simply aim for any goal, but only at goals which are praiseworthy.<\/p>\n

In this respect,\u00a0tadbir<\/em>\u00a0is an extension and the embodiment of the freedom of choice in Islam which, as argued by Professor Dr. Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, is termed\u00a0ikhtiyar\u00a0<\/em>(ikhtiar\u00a0<\/em>in Malay) and ought to be based solely on what is good (khayr<\/em>).<\/p>\n

In short, such definitions demonstrate that governance is not simply about the process of decision-making and the\u00a0process\u00a0<\/em>by which decisions are implemented but also about the substance of the decision-making, namely: noble ends, desirable outcomes, praiseworthy results, and good consequences.<\/p>\n

It is also pertinent here that one be cognizant of the fact that eminent Muslim lexicologists, such as ibn al-Manzur (d. 711H) in his\u00a0Lisan al-\u2018Arab<\/em>\u00a0and al-Firuzabadi (d. 817H) in his\u00a0al-Qamus al-Muhit<\/em>, have recorded that\u00a0tadabbur<\/em>—which is a verbal noun of another cognate word,\u00a0tadabbara<\/em>—is synonymous with the meaning of\u00a0tadbir<\/em>\u00a0at the epistemic or theoretical level.<\/p>\n

The expression\u00a0tadabbara<\/em>\u00a0al-amr<\/em>, being the fifth derivative of the triliteral root verb\u00a0da-ba-ra<\/em>, connotes one’s search for\u00a0the end<\/em>, or\u00a0outcome<\/em>, of an affair.<\/p>\n

In the above sense, therefore,\u00a0tadabbur<\/em>\u00a0is synonymous with\u00a0tadbir<\/em>\u00a0which, as previously explained, consists of one’s mentally looking into the outcome of an affair, and depending on the occasion, may be rendered into English as “purposive reflection,” “foresight,” or “prudence.”<\/p>\n

In fact, al-Jurjani in his famous\u00a0Book of Definitions<\/em>\u00a0succintly explained the subtle difference between the two modes or types of thinking, one being termed tafakkur and the other,\u00a0tadabbur<\/em>, respectively.<\/p>\n

According to him, although both are mental acts or dispositions, the former consists of one’s directing one’s mental observation and scrutiny towards proof or evidence, whereas the latter involves one’s directing attention towards the end or outcome.<\/p>\n

It is therefore clear that tadbir at the epistemic level, or\u00a0tadabbur<\/em>\u00a0as its synonym, denotes a particular mode of thinking, namely, thinking which is being specifically directed towards an outcome or result with the intention of knowing what is good, praiseworthy and noble.<\/p>\n

Hence, any act of governance, management or administration deserved of being referred to as\u00a0tadbir<\/em>\u00a0need not only involve that mode of thinking but also needs to nurture and nourish it.<\/p>\n

Otherwise, one is simply misappropriating the term.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We have stated earlier (see\u00a0IKIM Views\u00a0of 28 October and 23 December 2008) that there has been unanimity among Muslim scholars with regard to the meaning of\u00a0tadbir,\u00a0a major Arabic term signifying administration, management, or governance. To illustrate the aforementioned, we also related the definitions offered by three past Muslim scholars, namely: al-Baydawi (d. 791H); al-Jurjani (d.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_analytify_skip_tracking":false,"_wpzoom_pinterest_image_url":"","_wpzoom_pinterest_hidden_image":"0","_wpzoom_pinterest_description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[220],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-star","category-220","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/45"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22134"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22134\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}